Legend of the Dark Knight - Alternate Ending
by annaASSASSIN
Summary: When Grisia plunged the dagger through his heart he thought that would be the end of it. How very wrong he was.
1. Prolouge

**Ok before you start reading just be aware that this is an ****_alternate_**** ending. So if you haven't read the Legend of the Dark Knight story I posted here this will just be really confusing for you. **

**(Not that it wasn't confusing to start with) *Ahem***

**This was prompted by Sakura Hyuga's pm wondering about the alternate world, where she let slip a comment that both enticed me into writing this and almost made me spit my drink all over my bed. In laughter, of course.**

**As always I love hearing your comments and seeing that you've read it!**

* * *

When I plunged the dagger into my heart I had imagined the world disappearing into darkness, which it did. But afterwards I expected to wake in Utopia or (a possibility which is far more likely) a fiery Hell. After all, I had killed a fair amount of people and was a necromancer. Maybe rebirth. Or being brought back to be killed again for being an idiot.

Actually that last one wasn't too far from the truth.

Because after I blacked out I was awoken. Rudely.

"WAKE UP YOU LEECHING NECROMANCER!" An angry voice that I affirmed to be Lesus' yelled out. _Is Pink here or something? Lesus sounds pissed~ Glad he's not angry at me-_

_Hey wait._

I opened my eyes, startled to see that neither Utopia nor Hell was waiting for me. Instead it was much, much worse.

Lesus was angry.

"Whatever it was, I'll fix it!" I yelled, holding my hands defensively infront of me and pushing myself into the corner of the bed. Lesus stood infront of my bed, looking every bit the part of the 'Cruel and Cold-Hearted' Judgment Knight. He was wearing his black, flowing uniform along with carrying his large, currently very menacing-looking sword. His hair hung in its usual curtain of blackness, framing his steadily darkening face. Ok the 'dark' and 'black' parts were just filling in the gaps, after all I _am_ still blind. But even with the lack of eyesight I could see that, standing next to him and looking greatly amused, was Roland. And he was _alive_.

_Oh. That's right._

I wasn't the Sun Knight. I was Grisia… something or rather (Actually it was pretty likely I didn't have a last name) and I had wreaked havoc over Leaf Bud City for who knows how long, in the process taking Rolands arm, Adair's eye and just angering the Twelve Holy Knights in general. But more importantly…

"I'm not dead?" I asked dubiously, looking down at my very _alive_ looking body in confusion. I was wearing a plain set of clothes; consisting of a button-up, wrist length top and long, baggy pants. I was also sitting on a bed that was, in fact, _not_ mine.

"Of course you did," Lesus sneered angrily, "You're harder to kill than a cockroach."

"Hey! Even if I'm me, don't you think this is a bit much?" I said, trying to ignore the cockroach comment, "After all, nothing human could survive being stabbed through the heart!"

"Whether or not you're human is still debatable," Lesus muttered, turning away as though he didn't want to look at me. _Ouch._

"Grisia…" Roland said slowly with a mix of suspicion and bewilderment, "When you did that… you couldn't possibly have been… aiming at your heart?"

I looked at him blankly and nodded in confirmation, unsure as to why he would have to clarify that. I mean, a dagger sticking out of my chest should be obvious… right? It couldn't be that I took away some of his brain too, right?

Suddenly he started to chuckle to himself, confirming my doubts about his brain damage. In a quavering voice he continued, "I know your swordsmanship has always been terrible," He stopped, the laughs seeming to confuse him before he continued, "But this is other-worldly!"

"Hey! My swordsmanship isn't _that_ bad! And what are you even laughing about?!" I snapped, outraged.

E_ven if it's bad... you don't have to say it so plainly! *sob* _

"I'm sorry," he said, controlling himself before continuing in a serious voice, "Grisia the reasons I laughed was because, well…" He looked embarrassed, "You stabbed yourself closer to the shoulder than the heart…"

_I take it back! I take it all back! My swordsmanship is really awful!_

I looked at him in horror, "You're joking, right? This is actually the afterlife and you two were sent to tease my swordsmanship for the rest of eternity, right?"

He shook his head seriously.

I had the sudden urge to bang my head against a wall.

_What am I suppose to do now?!_

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**I hope you enjoyed that little teaser *ahem* I mean prologue. If you haven't already guess it Sakura's comment went along the lines of "Maybe he missed his heart? His swordplay was always terrible…"**


	2. Chapter 1

"This is the main hall of the Holy Temple. It's only used for show."

"Roland…"

"The main hall has two walkways. One of them leads to the inner part of the Holy Temple, while the other leads to the main hall of the Sanctuary of Light."

"Roland…"

"We've reached the most important location. This is your room, which is next to mine. The room on the other side of yours belongs to Knight-Captain Judgment…"

"Roland."

"Also, the meeting room for the conference of the Twelve Holy Knights is the third door down the walkway which is on the right after you go down two walkways that way. Try to avoid it– Can you remember if I tell you like this? Come on, I will show you the way to that room."

"Roland!" I growled softly in annoyance.

Roland stopped walking and seriously rebuked me, "You should call me Sun, and reserve Roland for personal conversation! Although I have a feeling you'll do whatever you want anyway…"

I stared at him in exasperation, feeling an annoying sense of Déjà vu, "I should leave now."

He shook his head sternly, "No. I can't trust you out there by yourself. For now you will stay with the Holy Temple."

"...Am I a guest or a prisoner?"

Roland looked thoughtful for a second before replying seriously, "A prisoner is a sort of guest."

"So I'm a prisoner," I said with a sigh, "Take me to the Judgment Complex then."

He shook his head again, "No."

"Why not?" I asked, feeling like flicking him between the eyes. _Get to the point!_

"Because," He hesitated, obviously unsure of how to answer, "Because this is what was decided."

"And what exactly _is_ this?"

"You'll stay here and work for the Temple," He explained, "You can't be trusted alone, but we don't want to have to execute you either."

"You seemed perfectly content to before," I said mildly, fidgeting as I did so, "I seem to remember all of you coming to Scarlet's house to do just that."

"Now is different," He said firmly, eyes unwavering.

"I don't see how," I snapped, irritated, "I mean-"

"Captain," Adair said loudly, approaching us seriously. I stared at the ground, holding myself back from answering as he said, "Undead have been sighted in the city."

"I'll deal with it immediately, go gather the platoon," He said before turning to me, handing me a parcel, "Take this to Knight-Captain Ice, and don't forget to tell him it will be needed by the next meeting."

I stood, stupefied as he walked away. Was this the way the temple treated all of their criminals? Showing them a tour and then setting them loose?!

I looked around helplessly. The corridors were deserted, Roland already gone. I looked down at the satchel in my hands_. I guess I don't have a choice_... Resolving myself I walked in the direction of Ice's room briskly, hoping I wouldn't bump into anybody along the way. Old habits (even if they are made from false memories) are hard to quit, so I always felt like I should be smiling, lest I be beaten to death by my teacher or the other twelve holy knights. Even walking around the temple in casual clothing made me want to jump behind a pillar and hide.

I knocked on Ice's door, unsure of how to proceed. He opened it, revealing his frigid expression. He was currently in his Ice Knight uniform, bow and all. He stood there and stared at me wordlessly.

"Uh," I hesitated, "Roland told me to give this to you…"

He nodded, taking it and gesturing for me to wait before turning and rummaging around his room. I looked around it in shock. I remembered his room being more of a kitchen than anything, but now it was completely bare. In one corner sat a chair and table, but apart from that it was devoid of all decoration or adornment. He stepped back into my line of sight, making me jump slightly. He pushed a similar parcel into my hands, nodding wordlessly before closing the door.

I stood for a moment, not quite sure what had just happened. I looked down and read the words 'Blaze Knight'.

… _They say prisoner, but really I'm the new errand boy, aren't I?_

Still, I walked to Blaze's rooms without a complaint, knocking on his door loudly and shifting from foot to foot as I waited. When he didn't answer I slid the parcel under the door, turning to leave before somebody bumped into me.

"Oh, sorr-" Blaze started loudly before stopping, glaring at me openly, "Oh it's just you. What do you think you're doing?"

Storm stood next to Blaze, looking at me with disinterested coldness. Meanwhile Blaze was openly hostile, hand ready on his sword. I felt a clenching in my chest.

"Nothing," I mumbled trying to walk past quietly. Suddenly I was thrown into the wall, hitting it hard before falling. Blaze was standing over me with a look of disgust.

"I don't know why Sun wants us to keep you, but don't get all cocky," He bent down and grabbed me by the collar, shaking me roughly, "You're an abomination. The Church should have killed you the second they got the chance."

Before I had a chance to react he left, Storm in tow. Even after they had disappeared around a corner I remained leaning against the wall I had been thrown against, not moving. I stood slowly, straightening my clothes absent-mindedly as I did so and nodding to myself.

"What now?" I mumbled to myself again, still not sure what the answer was. I had been asked myself the same question since I woke, but nothing had come to me. Finally I decided on one of the training rooms, curious as to what I was actually like now. _Is my magic still as powerful as I remember it? Maybe my swordsmanship wasn't that bad now! Actually…_ I touched the spot where I had plunged the knife and corrected myself, _I'm pretty sure it's still as bad as I remember. Let's see if I can find a training room still…_

As luck would have it, I remembered the location of the training rooms correctly. I quickly found an empty one, entering and closing the door firmly behind me. The room was large enough for a whole platoon to train comfortably in it, as they were designed for. Around the room were targets and equipment, all arranged neatly against the walls. I dragged one to the middle of the room and moved to stand a short distance away.

I breathed deeply before testing my abilities; from ice magic to fire and then back again. They all jumped to my beck as per usual, but I could tell immediately that my control of them wasn't firm. Even as they sat in my palm they would rebel slightly, the earth crumbling apart and the fire licking a line of blisters onto my hand.

I dropped the magic, letting it disperse into the air before turning to my injured palm in annoyance, "That's going to take awhile to get use to."

I gathered the Holy Element in my hand. Or at least, I tried to. Multiple times. I kept trying until sweat dripped down my brow and concentration, until I finally cracked.

"ANSWER, DAMN YOU!" I yelled, clenching the fist tightly and punching the ground, "YOU'VE ALWAYS ANSWERED BEFORE, SO WHY?! WHY NOW?!" I glared at my hands, but didn't get a response. I continued in a mumble, closing my eyes tightly, "What do I do now?"

I stood shakily, casting a silencing wind spell around myself and turning to the dummy. I chose anger over indecision, beginning to strike the dummy angrily and wishing I could turn off my brain.

_Ha! If Judgment saw me training, he'd be so surprised! _I shook my head, correcting myself as I began to strike harder, _**No he wouldn't. He'd glare at me in disgust.**_

"_Happy co-operation," Little-Judgment murmured happily, __**"Shut up, trash," Big-Judgment snarled at me.**_

"_Don't bully Sun!" Teen-Blaze shouted angrily before turning to me with a grin, "Are you okay?" __**He looked at me in disgust, "You're an abomination."**_

"_Sun," Ice's quiet voice called, his eyes looking happy as he said, "I baked you some sweets, and they're blueberry," __**He looked at me quietly, a silent pillar of ice.**_

"_Sun!" Leaf called, running up to me while saying kindly, "I got some blueberry treats from Ice earlier. Do you want to eat some with me?" __**He turned away from me, face angry.**_

"_Sun," We were all in my cellar, celebrating Elijah's betrothal, "If it's alright with you… can I still call you brother?" __**He stood in front of me, dressed in the Hell Knight's uniform and looking miserable.**_

"_That's not true!" Lesus said fiercely after my proclamation of only causing hardship and pain. __**He stared at me coldly, "It would have been better if you'd struck your heart."**_

"Damn it," I whispered, my attacks on the dummy gradually ceasing, "Damn it all."

_What am I meant to do now?_

The phrase was only the barest tip of the thoughts I had been trying to ignore since I woke up. It was the thinnest reflection of the question that had been tearing me up inside; _Where am I meant to go?_

I couldn't stay here. For the first time since I was a helpless orphan, I didn't have anywhere to come home to. The Holy Temple wasn't home for me anymore.

I was a nuisance.

I remembered joking with Lesus, him telling me in an amused voice, "_You're such a nuisance sometimes."_

It was always said, thrown to and fro as a joke. Earth would say it scornfully, but his eyes would dance with laughter. Metal would try it as an insult, but it always spun into a compliment. Storm would say it in an exasperated tone, but he never turned down a request.

But it wasn't a joke anymore.

I wasn't welcome.

I was a nuisance.


	3. Chapter 2

"What colour is my hair?" I demanded to Roland suddenly as we ate dinner.

He looked confused, "Black, why?"

_*sob*… I wish I hadn't asked._

"No reason," I muttered wearily, popping another spoonful of Congee into my mouth dejectedly, "And my eyes?"

"Blue," He replied seriously.

_At least that hasn't changed._

We were sitting in the dining room, eating our dinners and discussing small matters. Roland sat seriously, back straight and wearing his Sun Knight uniform. Even though I knew it wasn't a real habit I couldn't help but keep my back straight and keep my elegant manner about me.

"Hey Roland," I asked, looking around the empty dining room curiously, "Why don't the other Twelve Holy Knights eat with you?"

He shrugged, "We're all fairly busy."

"Mhm," I mumbled, looking down at my Congee with distaste. It didn't even have any seasoning. _Sigh_. I continued in a clearer voice, "So what jobs does the Church want me to do now?"

"Just odd jobs," He replied casually, "We can't exactly have you fighting on the front lines but you'll still be helping clear up the city and manage the Temple."

"… Roland, you do realise you're getting a necromancer to work for the Church of the God of Light, Right?" He nodded and I sighed softly, "Sometimes I think you're more reckless than me."

"There are some rules though," He said seriously, pushing his finished dinner away from himself, "You can't use any necromancy and you can't leave the Temple unless you're accompanied by one of the Twelve Holy Knights."

"Then why?" I snapped, glaring at him, "Why are you going to all this trouble to keep me around? The others obviously think it's a bad idea, so why?!"

He was quiet for some time, looking down at his lap and twisting the end of his shirt. Eventually he said in a soft voice, "Because you're my friend."

"I took your arm," I said in a flat voice, not believing him.

He hesitated, obviously torn as he said in a slow voice, "You'd do the same for me."

"You're not me," I said simply, "You wouldn't normally do this. What about your duty? You're the Sun Knight."

_Although I suppose I _am_ the type of person who would have made my Death Lord friend into one of the Twelve Holy Knights._

"Part of my duty is protecting the innocent," He remarked, still not looking up.

"And the much larger part is killing undead creatures," I countered wryly, not wanting to add that I was obviously far from innocent.

"You're not undead," He retorted, standing, "I'm going to go correct some documents. You should go to your room," He looked uncomfortable, "And Grisia?" I looked up and he continued in an embarrassed voice, "There's magic around your room, so the Twelve Holy Knights will be informed when you come and leave."

"…" I stared at his retreating back. With a sigh I pushed the bowl of congee away and stood, walking in the direction of my rooms. I kept my head down, working magic in my hands slowly and trying to regain control of it. Which is why I didn't notice Elijah until I ran straight into him, both of us stepping back in surprise.

"Oh," I looked up and froze, shocked. I had expected the Hell Knight to wear the Dragon Saint Brigandine. He was not. Instead he was wearing the Sun Knight uniform, wings and all, but the white had been reversed to black. It looked… ridiculous. I held back my laughter, but couldn't quite keep the amusement out of my voice as I said, "Sorry about that, Elijah."

His eyes widened in surprise and he looked me over cautiously, "How do you know my name?"

I hesitated before answering, "Roland told me?"

He looked more confused, "Who?"

"Sun Knight," I said uneasily._ Even if Roland claims this is normal it still feels wrong that they aren't conversing normally. _He nodded in recognition and I asked in a timid voice, "How long have you been Hell Knight?"

I almost sighed in relief when he began to look thoughtful rather than angry. Elijah, at least, seemed able to stand my presence. When I looked closer I noticed that his face was washed out, not showing its usual vitality as he answered, "I'm not sure, sorry."

"Oh," I said, nodding to myself, "Don't worry about it," I started to leave before noticing Elijah seeming lost, biting his lower lip and looking around with a frown, "Are you lost?" I asked incredulously.

He nodded meekly, "I've been having some trouble getting a lay of the land."

"Where do you need to go?" I asked good-naturedly, slightly amused by his confusion.

"The Pope sent me to find Earth Knight. I haven't got a clue where he'd be though..." He trailed away, looking at me hopefully.

"I'll take you to his rooms, if you'd like?" I smiled in a friendly manner, "I've got nothing to do at the moment anyway."

"Thank you," he said, sighing in relief and beginning to follow my lead as I strode to where I remembered Earth's room being.

Despite some obvious gaps, the world in my memory was really similar. Everything was exactly where I remembered it; the dining rooms, the kitchens, the Twelve Holy Knights' rooms, even the training halls (which I rarely remember visiting). Even if the Twelve Holy Knights didn't act the same with me as I remembered, they were still themselves. But they all seemed a little bit... broken. Maybe it was because of my false memories, but every time I saw them I couldn't help feeling that something very important was missing.

"Hey Elijah," I asked curiously as we walked down the halls to Earths' room, "What's the princess actually like?"

He looked shocked as he said stiffly, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"There _is_ a princess here, isn't there? She was the Pig Kings daughter. Stubborn, protective, suspicious of everything..." As the list went on I began to mumble, a faint line of irritation appearing between my brows.

"Well," He hesitated, looking at me with an odd expression, "Yes... But I don't know anything about the princess."

"Why?" I asked in a surprised tone, "Were you two not... together?"

He stopped in his tracks, looking at me with horror and confusion. I could see the effort he was putting into controlling expression. _Of course it isn't nearly as good as my ability. Er, actually depending on whether or not I remember correctly... Well it isn't nearly as good as Lesus' ability, anyway!_

"There's no way that could happen, right?" He finally said bitterly, looking down at the floor, "She's a princess. I'm the Hell Knight."

"Why?" I asked, frowning at him, "If you don't want to, why do it?"

"It's not that!" He exclaimed while looking up at me, "I just know where my duty lies! I _chose_ to go to the Hell Knight selection. I'm obliged to honour my decisions!"

_You say that, but you look like you're regretting it. Everybody around here is too serious..._

"I'm sorry," I said, feeling like sighing at my hopelessness, "I shouldn't have pried into your business. I didn't mean to upset you."

He gave an explosive sigh, shaking his head, "Don't be. I was just a bit surprised, that's all. How did you... I mean how do you know all that?"

He was looking at me curiously, but I hesitated. _Will Roland be angry if I told him? It seems that he hasn't told the other Twelve Holy Knights yet. But why? Shouldn't that information be important?_

"I can't really say," I admitted, "I just do. Here," We had reached Earth Knight's room and I stepped back, nodding to him, "He should be in here. Sorry for the trouble."

"No, No," He said quickly, shaking his head, "Thank you, really."

"No problem," I replied, smiling as I began to walk back in the direction of my room. As I crossed the halls and rounded the corners I couldn't help but feel grateful that at least Elijah seemed to be acting normal. I couldn't help but have the feeling that Roland was trying to hide something from me. It was reasonable, though. As a child Roland was always serious and duty-bound, something I'm sure would never change. Yet here he was, blatantly disregarding his duty and the other Twelve Holy Knights. It was giving me a headache.

"Oh," I looked up to see Metal and another man, "Look, Stone," he said, turning to the man and curling his lip in disdain, "It's the pet-necromancer."

I stared at the unknown man in shock, not quite being able to believe what Metal was implying. No, not the pet part. That was obviously the case, so I had no qualms with that. What I couldn't believe is that he had called this man, who was certainly _not_ the Stone I remember, by the Stone Knight title. The man even wore the official uniform. And I had to admit, he looked stubborn. From his hard, square jaw to his wide, unmovable shoulders; all of it looked like a permanent structure that refused to move.

"Tcht," He glared at me, crossing his bulking arms as he sneered, "I can't believe we're putting up with its' presence. Don't tell me it took that useless Sun Knight's wits when it took his arm?"

"Hey!" I snapped angrily. Roland was their leader, damn it! He should be treated like one!

"What?" Metal laughed, swaggering over to shove my shoulder roughly before saying slyly, "You want to fight, Trash?"

I didn't answer, trying to pass them. 'Stone' stood in my way, looking stubborn.

"Move," I said through clenched teeth, glaring at the ground.

"No," He said stubbornly, infuriating me more. It was bad enough that he wasn't the person I remembered, but he was so annoyingly stubborn. _Annoying to the point of fault_, Roland had said. Suddenly I had the urge to agree. Even the way his brows were lowered above his eyes looked stubborn.

Metal whistled, sounding overly cocky, "What a coward! Why don't you just run over to the Sun Knight and beg him to protect you?" He laughed loudly, "Or are you too afraid we'll kill him then walk over his cold corpse to kill you, Trash?"

_That's it. I can't take it anymore._ I was willing to back down quietly, even put up with attitudes of the people I remembered as friends. I could take the verbal abuse, even the physical. After all, I don't die easy. But _**nobody**_**, **and I mean even the Twelve Holy Knights, will _**ever**_ talk about killing Roland in front of me and get away with it.

"Shut up," I growled, glaring at him. His eyes twitched at the ends, and I imagined what he must be seeing. I knew that right now, I looked like a necromancer. And I was glad for it. I continued in a quiet, deadly voice, "He's your Sun Knight. Don't forget that."

"No," Stone said, not even twitching at my frightening demeanour, "He'll never be our Sun Knight. He's a coward who couldn't even gather up the courage to kill you; a murderer and a necromancer."

"That's right," Metal agreed, glowering at me, "Neither of you deserve to be alive."

I was seriously considering striking him, until a better idea formed in my head and I smiled at them. In a bright voice I continued, "Fight me then. If you win, I back down. You can kill me or do whatever it is you want to do. But if _I_ win," The smile turned into a smirk, "You have to accept Roland as your Sun Knight and serve him to the best of your ability."

Metal laughed, saying condescendingly, "You think _you_ can beat _us_?! Don't make me laugh! We'll take you up on your order, but remember this; when you lose we're ridding the world of your presence."

I shrugged, smiling faintly as I did so, "I'm not too worried. I'm not so easy to kill."


	4. Chapter 3

Right now, I was where I never imagined myself being. Ok well I'd _imagined_ some of it, I mean there were loads of times I thought of beating the hell out of Earth… or maybe Moon before I knew what he was like…

Because right now I stood, opposite two of the Twelve Holy Knights, planning to fight them. It wasn't until I had challenged them that I thought things through and realized… I was going to die! Definitely!

_Sob…_

I didn't have any weapons, and they would have free right to kill me the second I used necromancy. Not one of the other Holy Knights would pull them up on it, after all, because I _was_ a necromancer. The Church's pet necromancer, as Metal had so scathingly put it earlier.

"Pfft!" Metal laughed, pulling out his daggers and spinning them around masterfully, "Don't you think you should grab a sword? Or are you resolved to being killed?"

_Oh Metal. What you don't know is… I'm better off without a sword! Ha! Why would I lug around such a heavy thing during a fight? Do you think I'm suicidal?!_

"Let it be," Stone said simply, drawing out his broadsword and adopting a stubborn fighting stance, "We'll demolish him either way."

_You really annoy me!_

"Let's get this started," I said in a loud voice, faking confidence. Even if I couldn't win, I could probably still manage to run away.

Metal didn't hesitate, not even pausing before leaping at me, slashing away with his knives. Meanwhile Stone had… done nothing. At all. He stayed in his original position, not budging an inch.

I cast Earth Shield, blocking Metal and summoning 'Grease' onto the floor. He slipped, but quickly threw himself back up and away. Even now Stone didn't take the opportunity to move, standing put and holding his sword in front of himself.

"Um," I started, looking at him incredulously, "Are you going to join in or…?"

"Stone lets the enemy come to him. He's the Stone Knight, dummy," Metal said scathingly, but I could see traces of exasperation in his face. They weren't even directed at me. I was beginning to understand why this Stone Knight annoyed Roland so much. He was completely useless!

Metal attacked again, and I barely managed to dodge. I ended up tumbling to the floor and cursing my luck. It seemed that I was being really reckless lately.

"Hey!" An angry voice sounded just as an ominous, black figure approached us. It took me a moment to recognize him as Lesus. He looked furious, glaring at Metal and Stone before shouting, "Undead are attacking the city and you're out here playing?!"

Metal quickly sheathed his weapons, saluting and fumbling an apology, "Sorry, Knight-Captain Judgment! We hadn't realized!"

"Of course you can't!" He snapped, glaring at me, "How do you expect to be able to sense dark element if you have this faucet leaking it right next to you?! This is why I told you to avoid it! Now get out there, _now_!"

"Yes, Sir!" They saluted and left, Judgment starting to follow after them. His eyes held genuine worry, making me say something that I probably shouldn't have.

"Let me come with you," He turned to stare at me coldly, but I rushed to interrupt him, "The city's being attacked, right? I can help. Wouldn't you prefer I be used, rather than putting the other Knights at risk?"

He looked thoughtful before shrugging, "Fine. Be prepared to get killed if you pull anything funny, though."

_Ow. I know I was trying to convince you to let me out, but couldn't you at least be a little bit reluctant about throwing me off into danger?_

I quickly stood and followed him, both of us almost running as we did so. Even though I knew the situation was dire, I couldn't help but remember the times Lesus and I had worked together like this. Or rather, the times I thought we had.

My thoughts on happy times were shattered when we left the Holy Temple. The city wasn't just being attacked, oh no. It was being _swarmed._ Undead were everywhere, all heading in the direction of the Holy Temple. I knew my Dark energy was abundant, but the thought of it being strong enough to mask _this_ was horrifying. I must have been much more powerful than I thought.

"Judgment!" Roland yelled, fighting alongside the other Twelve Holy Knights on the front lines, "Quick! They're overwhelming us!"

Judgment ran to the front, hacking down undead in a frenzy. Next to him I could sense the other knights struggling, all of them wounded in one way or another. It was then that I realized that their Holy element was _much_ weaker than I remembered. No wonder they were having so much trouble! In fact, even the regular Holy Knights seemed weaker than usual.

It was horrifying. If I had my Holy element, I could help more. I could support them. But as I was, I could only stand back and close my eyes.

I began targeting the undead, as I had done so long ago in my memories. But this time it wasn't Holy light that ran them through; It was everything I could throw at them. Ice, fire, earth, all of it. Eventually I stopped concentrating on the individual sparks of dark energy and began to strike them as groups, felling up to ten at once. It helped, but only barely. All around me knights were falling or retreating back. People yelled out, and at the front of them all stood the Twelve Holy Knights. Part of me still identified them as _my_ Twelve Holy Knights. As brothers. And that was why I was willing to, as I always remembered doing, break every rule to keep them safe.

It was unstable, unpredictable and unknown to me, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was my Holy Knights were in danger. I let loose a torrent of dark energy, cutting them down this way. It was a ridiculous way of fighting the undead, but I had exhausted all other options. So I smothered them with it, pulling apart the necromancy that controlled them. They began to fall rapidly, and people cried out in horror. I ignored it all until the undead finally fell to a reasonable number and I was able to rest, my breath coming out sparse.

"Ice!" Somebody screamed. My sensing ability was weak, and I couldn't make my range extend to them. So instead I began to stumble forward blearily, listening to the shouts and trying to discern what was happening.

When I came close enough I could see why they were shouting. Ice lay on the ground, breathing heavily as water element began to pool about him. With a sense of vague realization, I found it was coming from a wound on his stomach.

"What are you doing?" I asked in a confused voice, eyes still closed as I approached, "Heal him! Quickly!"

"We can't!" Leaf was yelling, tears running down his face as he cradled Ice's head, "Only the Pope and the bishops could heal a wound like this! We sent a runner to get them, but…!"

I knew without him saying. They wouldn't get here in time.

I looked down at Ice in horror, not wanting to believe it. I tried to shout, but it came out as a choke, "Ice?!" I stumbled forward suddenly, kneeling down next to him and trying to block the wound with my hands, "Hey, Ice?!" I yelled, growing more and more panicked as his breathing slowed, "Wake up! Ice!"

_No. No. No!_

_I didn't want them to die. _

_No matter who they were, even if they were nothing like I remembered, they couldn't die. _

_I wouldn't let them. Whether I was the Sun Knight or a Necromancer…_

_I wanted to protect them! _

_God of Light, Are you listening? _I turned my head to look up at the sky desperately,_ I don't care if I've abandoned you or whatever, But just this once! I'll give you my life in exchange for his, so don't you dare let Ice die!_

I squeezed my eyes tightly as the blood kept flowing, simply flowing past my hands as if they weren't even there.

"Please!" I choked out, tears beginning to stream down, "Just once more, let me help them! Damn you!" I was screaming now, "I'm willing to pay any price, so just help me!"

The world was gold. Somehow, to a blind person, the world became gold. I couldn't see anything past the blinding Holy Light that surrounded me.

When it finally cleared Ice took in a large breath, his whole body arching to the sky as his eyes flew open and he began to cough. Leaf held him up quickly, looking at him with large, scared eyes.

My eyes followed Ices, landing where the wound had been moments earlier. I looked around, confused. They shouldn't have been able to get here so quickly, so how…

"Grisia?" Roland whispered, eyes wide enough to break and mouth open. I immediately felt like reprimanding him, despite the circumstances. _A Sun Knight should always smile!_

"That's impossible," Lesus said, staring down at me in disbelief.

All of the others were around me, all exclaiming and some drawing their weapons with suspicious faces.

_What?! Never seen a necromancer before?!_

"What kind of trick is this?!" Blaze was the first to ask in a loud voice.

Lesus bent down, grabbing me by the collar and pulling me to my feet roughly before snarling, "What did you do?!"

"Judge!" Roland snapped, prying Lesus' hand off of me and glaring at him, "He just saved _your_ knights life! You should be thanking him!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Judgment said angrily, "He's a necromancer! He can't _heal_! Open your eyes, Roland! How do you know he hasn't turned Ice into some unholy creature?!"

"You know the answer to that," Roland said simply.

"And what answer is that?" I asked in confusion, not quite catching up to them in the conversation, "What just happened?"

"Guys!" Leaf exclaimed, jumping in, "Don't go fighting! Ice still needs to get treatment! He can't be fully healed-"

"Yes, I am," Ice's emotionless voice interrupted him, and everybody turned to stare at him. He was already standing, hand still lingering on his stomach. A faint line of irritation had formed between his brows, which was actually a major facial expression for Ice.

"It still couldn't have been him!" Judgment insisted, "There's no way that he could have done that! You know that as well as I do!"

"Knight-Captain Judgment," Roland said seriously, looking at Ice with awe, "You believe in evidence. Well, what do you call this?"

"Will somebody explain what you are all going on about?!" I snapped, irritated, "I'm completely lost!"

"Grisia," Roland turned to me with a big smile, which was the biggest I had ever received from him, "Your hair is gold!"

"What?" I whispered, grabbing it to look but lamenting that I couldn't discern the colours, "That's not possible…"

"It's true," Storm said, looking at me in disbelief, "I can sense Holy Element in him. This has to be a mistake-"

"It's not!" Leaf, second best to me at sensing elements, said confidently, "It's definitely there! And on top of that… It's growing."

"I-I," I looked down at my hands in disbelief, gathering the Holy Element as I always remembered having done. This time, it came. I welcomed it like on old friend, not quite believing what was happening.

They all became silent, none of them denying it but few of them accepting it.

"Sun," A new voice came, making me jump in surprise. To the side stood the Pope, looking grim as he said, "We need to have a discussion."

"You're late, old man!" I snapped, breaking the tension. It wasn't faked though, I was genuinely angry. At the rate he had arrived, Ice would really have died. I felt a chill down my back at the thought.

"All of you," The Pope ignored me, turning to the others and ordering, "Disperse."

"No," Lesus said stubbornly, staring between the Roland and the Pope with growing suspicion, "I'm going with you. You're hiding something, aren't you?"

The three of them began to argue in the corner, leaving me feeling lost.

I began to feel a growing pain in my chest. I touched it absently, frowning in confusion. It kept growing until I had to clench my teeth against it and sweat formed on my brow.

"Hey," Leaf appeared close to me, looking cautious and worried, "Are you okay?"

I tried to answer him, but instead I doubled over against the pain. My scream sounded loudly, and I fell against the hard cobblestones, breathing sharply. The pain roared through my body, threatening to overwhelm me. I tried fighting against it, to no avail. It choked me, making me lose all of my sensing ability. Still, I didn't fall into unconsciousness as I writhed in pain against the floor, surrounded by yelling.

* * *

**Hello there lovelies.**

**Before anything else; All bow down to Sakura Hyuga in thanks! She came up with the fabulous idea of Grisia getting his Holy Light back! (I definitely think he's a lot better as a Holy Knight (cleric) than a necromancer!)**

** I hoped you like the chapter! It's starting to flow more easily, so _hopefully_ I'll be updating more frequently. As always; reading your reviews makes me so happy!~ :3 **

**And I agree with yous; the Metal and Stone in this make me want to hit my head against a wall. Hard. Urgh! I can't stand them, but they're good for plot development so I had to add them. (Too lazy _not_ to add them) I secretly thought of maybe killing off their characters, but I figured it would defeat the purpose. x]**


	5. Chapter 4

I began to breathe steadier, the pain slowly fading away until I could think again. I was laying in a bed, my clothing sticking to me uncomfortably. I waited a few moments more and the pain faded completely, leaving me shaking and confused. I opened my sensing ability again, feeling too weak to sit up.

_So hot…_

I was in the middle of the bed with blankets tangled around me. I threw them off, feeling entirely too hot. I fumbled on the side-table, irritated when I realised there wasn't any water.

_Urgh. My throat hurts…_

I stumbled up, swaying and having to struggle to keep my legs beneath me. I fell to the side, catching myself on the wall and beginning to lean on it as support. I inched to the door slowly, thinking of nothing but water as my feet shuffled beneath me. My breathing was heavy now, as was my whole body.

_I feel so heavy… Why is it so hot in here?_

I pushed open the door, stumbling out of the room and leaning against the wall again as I began to make my way to the kitchen, cursing that my rooms were so far from it. I kept shuffling along for what felt like an eternity, still nowhere near the kitchen. I was beginning to wonder if I was going to be able to make it before a loud voice sounded near me.

"WOAH!" I looked up through squinted eyes, my sensing ability unable to discern features at the moment. The voice sounded hesitant as it bellowed, "You don't look too good. You shouldn't be out, I'll take you to your room!"

Suddenly there were arms on me, dragging me away at a fast pace. I looked in the direction of the kitchen, wishing I had the strength to speak. Actually, even if I could I think my throat would just disintegrate at this stage…

_Waterrrrr…. Sob…._

"Blaze?! What happened?!" Another voice sounded close and a second set of arms appeared around me, helping to support me and drag me even further from the promise of water.

"We got the notice, So I went looking for him. When I found him he was all… stupid looking," Blaze explained loudly, making me wish my ears would just break and save me the pain of cringing away from his loud voice. _Shut uppppp!_

"Sun said to bring him to Sun's rooms," The voice said in a much softer tone, making me instantly like whoever this was more.

"Okay!" The loud voice all but shouted.

"I'll get the door-"

"No need!" I heard a large bang that I was fairly certain could be accounted to a door being kicked down, "I got it!"

"Sorry, Sun," The soft voice said as I was set down somewhere comfy, "Here he is. He doesn't look too good, should I get a healer?"

"Grisia?" A familiar voice called, a cool hand appearing on my forehead, "He's burning up. Idiot, why'd you go wandering on your own?!"

I frowned, trying to focus my sensing ability but only revealing blurred edges. In a pained, quiet voice I choked out, "Leaf, Water."

There was silence, then a glass was pressed to my lips.

_Ah~ Sweet bliss!_

The water ran down my throat like heaven; cool and rejuvenating. Afterwards I felt a lot cooler, maybe even a little too cold. Still, I welcomed the change as I breathed in cool breathes of air and thanked the person with a quiet, but significantly less desperate, voice. My sensing ability started to settle, the blurred images slowly coming into focus to reveal the scene.

I was in my Roland's rooms. I was sitting on the bed, three people gathered around me and looking worried.

"What happened?" I groaned, rubbing my still-aching head, "Why am I here?"  
Roland's worried look turned to one of mild fright and he asked in a quick voice, "You know who you are, right?"

I rolled my eyes at him, saying in a clearer voice, "Grisia Su- Grisia. Just Grisia."

He breathed a sigh of relief, nodding to himself and mumbling something. I wasn't the only one who had noticed, either. The other two looked at him curiously, but didn't question his obviously strange behaviour. With a shock I realised who the other two were. Near me stood Blaze, looking like his usual self and significantly less hostile than he had the last time I had encountered him. Leaf was standing next to him, looking like his normal, happy self and making me want to sob in relief.

_Even if everybody's turned angry, Leaf must still be a good guy!_

He confirmed it by turning to me and asking in a worried voice, "Are you okay?"

I nodded mutely, still a little surprised by his caring attitude. Leaf had always been a good guy, but I had taken Roland's arm and laid waste to half the city. I had at least expected him to be a little unfriendly. I mean, I remembered Roland attacking meand Leaf trying to turn him into a shish kabob.

"What am I doing here?" I asked again, turning to each of them and waiting for an answer, "What happened?"

"Well after you-" Blaze's booming voice made my head ache, and I obviously showed it because Leaf interrupted Blaze by kindly putting a hand on his arm and shaking his head.

"After you revived Ice," Leaf said in his soft, ear-healing voice, "You suddenly fell down and started screaming. The Pope tried to heal you, but he couldn't ease it at all. He said to leave you alone until it had ceased, so we put you in your room. But when you left…" I nodded in understanding. Of course. Roland had said so himself; _The Twelve Holy Knights will be informed if you leave your rooms. _Suddenly I felt a chill.

"Don't tell me they were all informed…" I squeaked. _Lesus is going to kill me for being reckless! Oh wait, no he's not._ I sighed, half in relief and half in exasperation at myself. It was a lot to adapt to; knowing that somebody you remembered being your closest, kindest- well, except for Leaf- friend actually hated your guts, as well as all your other friends having the urge to kill you. Which brought me onto my next topic… "Why are you two here?"

"Well," They exchanged a look before Leaf turned to me seriously, "You saved Ice. Even if you're a necromancer, we… that is…" He looked flustered.

Blaze interrupted him by beaming widely, slapping Leaf's back good naturedly as he began to talk, "You saved Ice, so you must be a good guy!" His voice sounded loud, but a lot less so than before. I realized with a sense of surprise that he was trying to be considerate, "Not to mention that was some freaky-powerful Holy Magic! It was like seeing an," He coughed, looking uncomfortable, "_older_ version of the Pope."

"Hey," I complained, "I'm not old! Wait," I stopped, face turning horrified, "Am I?! Don't tell me I have wrinkles!"

Blaze looked confused, so Leaf piped in kindly, "No, you look quite young. Would you like a mirror…?"

I shook my head, "No, thanks. It wouldn't do me any good."

"Why not?" Leaf asked curiously.

"I can't see," I said plainly, staring at them dubiously. They knew, right? Maybe they just forgot…

"HA!" Blaze began to laugh loudly, "Can't see. That's a good one."

"Actually," Roland piped in calmly, sitting next to me and folding his hands neatly, "He can't."

They all looked incredulous, so I turned to Roland. In a confused voice I asked, "Why didn't you tell them? It should have been included in the paperwork…"

_Hey! I might not __**do**__ paperwork, but even I know that sort of thing should be added!_

He hesitated, "It was irrelevant."

"… You're lying," I said simply, shaking my head.

"No I'm not. How would you know?" He asked in an irritated voice.

"Because, Roland," I said seriously, "Your lying is almost as bad as my swordsmanship."

"Woah!" Blaze said loudly, eyes wide, "Your swordsmanship must be really awful!"

_Sob… I wish I hadn't said that…_

"Roland tell me the truth and-" I was interrupted by a soft knocking on the door, which was promptly pushed open. Behind it stood Ice, in all his frigidness.

Without a word he walked in, not so much as blinking at the surprised stares of his brothers. Instead he walked straight to me, setting a small parcel on my lap and saying in a cold voice, "Here."

I stared at him in confusion, noticing that although his voice was cold his eyes looked warm. _The increased movement of water element in his cheeks… No way. Ice is blushing!_ I kept back the amusement as I unwound the package, the cloth around it giving way to reveal a box. I opened the box cautiously, hoping nothing intimidating would come out. Instead, packed to the top, were stacks of cookies. I took one cautiously, bitting down as Roland explained.  
"Ice wanted to know how to thank you, so I told him about how you always liked sweets. Especially the super-sweet sweets…"

My face showed the bliss I was in as I murmured in a thankful voice, "They're definitely Ice's home-made cookies! They're even blueberry…"

"Are you sure they're okay?" Ice said, eyes worried but face stiff, "Sun said to just keep adding sugar, so they're definitely too sweet…"

"What are you talking about?" I said incredulously, "Your baked sweets are always the best!"

"Always?" Leaf asked in a confused voice, turning to look between us.

I turned to glare at Roland again before saying in a warning voice, "Roland… Did you tell them anything?! Tell me the truth; What are you up to?!"

"Nothing," He said stiffly, not meeting my eye, "If you're so insistent they know you can tell them."

"Oh that will be a fun day," I grumbled, shoving another cookie into my mouth as I continued, "Then they can all chase me down with their swords…"

"Definitely not!" Leaf said, looking stern, "You saved Ice. We definitely won't let them _kill_ you."

_But you'll let them beat me up, right? Sob…_

Ice was nodding. I shook my head warily, unable to keep up with the constant change in their emotions. Then I set the cookies aside to look at my hand, frowning as I did so. Holy Light gathered easily in my palm. It was almost as though I had never even been missing it.

"Roland," I said quietly, realization making my eyes wide, "Give me your shoulder."

He look confused, but complied. I place a glowing hand on the stump where his arm should be, frowning and concentrating all the Holy Light I could. I continued until it was so bright I couldn't see. When I finally stopped, nothing had changed. Instead he was looking at me with pity, shaking his head as he did so, "It can't be fixed, Grisia. Even the Pope has tried. I'm sorry."

"Why are you saying sorry?" I snapped, wanting to punch him, "This is all my fault. I don't even have the decency to remember..." I ran both hands through my hair, feeling hopeless, "I did this to you. To all of you. You should have just killed me when you got the chance," I sighed loudly, "Now everybody seems so different... even Lesus has turned into a disagreeable person!"

"Judgment Knight?" Ice asked, looking confused.

"Urgh," I groaned, flopping down onto the bed, "It's weird hearing you all call him like that. When did you stop calling each other by your names? At the very least act a bit more like yourselves."

"What are you talking about?" Blaze asked in his loud voice, "This is me normally."

"Youre different," I complained, "You've always been like the Blaze Knight. You never had to change yourself to fit the role..."

"We don't have the luxury to be ourselves," Ice said in a quiet voice, his eyes the only thing betraying him by showing emotion, "We're the Twelve Holy Knights."

"That matters too, but what happened to you all?" I persisted, growing more and more irritated, "What happened to the Ice who use to always be baking people sweets? You loved baking! Almost as much as you loved smiling! And what about Lesus?" I growled, "He's turned into such a mean guy! And don't even get me started on the imposter Stone!"

"Imposter?" Leaf looked confused, "What imposter?"

"The big, stubborn guy!" I explained, still annoyed, "He's too stubborn! The Stone I remember was really easy to get on with! Although he wasn't stubborn at all, he still tried his best!"

"Other Stone?" Ice asked, looking uncertain, "It couldn't be you're talking about... that child that was supposed to become the Stone Knight?"

I sat up quickly, nodding, "Probably! Brown hair, brown eyes, looked really easy to pick on- Ahem I mean get along with..."

"I remember him," Ice said with the slightest frown, "He got replaced when he wasn't stubborn enough. It was a shame. He was a good knight."

"You mean," I looked around to all of them, "He got replaced?! What's with that! He might not have suited his role, but he was your brother! You can't replace brothers!"

"It had to be done, Grisia," Roland said calmly, putting a hand on my arm to calm me.

"No!" I yelled, standing and brushing him off, "None of you are perfect! We strive to meet the expectations of the citizens, but we never agreed to losing ourselves! You should know that! Earth is a major womaniser, Storm is a workoholic, Ice is secretly a great mother, Lesus is actually very kind," I listed them all of, growing louder and louder, "But that doesn't mean you would replace them! What kind of Twelve Holy Knights are you! It's like you don't even think of each other as family!"

The looks on their faces proved me right, making me erupt in anger. In a loud voice I yelled, "Since I got here, I've been trying to figure out what's wrong, but now I get it; It's you all! You aren't the Twelve Holy Knights! Youre just a bunch of strangers working together!" I pieced together the finally parts of the puzzle, realising something that made my heart skip a beat, "No wonder you aren't in the God of Lights favour anymore! I wondered why the Holy Power I sensed was so low, but now I realise! It's because you aren't the Twelve Holy Knights, even if you wear their clothes!"

They all stared at me, mouths hanging open and eyes wide. Even Blaze was quiet for a change. Without a word I strode out of the room, stepping over the broken door, and went to finish an important task.

In the Twelve Holy Knights there was a knight, counter to the Sun Knight; The Judgment Knight. He was dark, ominous and scary, but I remember him as my friend. His tasks include torturing criminals, maintaining peace and handling paperwork.

But his most important task was to maintain order within the Twelve Holy Knights, with the help of the Sun Knight. Which is why I was angrily striding to the Judgment complex, disregarding my messy attire completely.

I was going to visit my friend who is not my friend, and give him the lecture of his life.


	6. Chapter 5

I was striding down the halls angrily, ignoring the startled looks and hushed whispers that followed in my wake. Behind me I could hear Roland, but I didn't stop or slow for him. Instead I kept walking quickly, anger boiling as I headed into the direction of the Judgment Complex, sure of where I would find my 'Friend who was not my friend' so I could beat some sense into him.

_Tcht… I can't believe they've all been so blind. How have they even managed to survive all these years?_

The thought was filled with worry as well as anger. Roland had lost an arm. Adair an eye. Ice almost lost his _life_. _If they continued like this, what would they lose next?_ The thought kept me moving, finally giving me purpose from within the tangled mess that had been my life since waking. This was something I could strive for. I could protect them. No, I _would_ protect them. Whether they liked it or not.

"Grisia!" Roland snapped in a hushed tone. We were now inside the Judgment Complex, right outside of the bathroom where I knew, even if I didn't know Lesus anymore, he would be. After all, Lesus was Lesus. And my memories, even if false, had all proven to be accurate thus far. Without pausing I kicked open the door in a very Blaze-like fashion.

_That was actually kind of fun. Is that why Blaze likes it so much?_

I strode in brazenly, face furrowed in anger as I looked to where Lesus should be puking his guts out. Except he wasn't. I looked around in confusion. In the corner Lesus sat, not looking up despite the commotion I had made.

"Hey!" I snapped, approaching and bending down to glare him in the eye and start lecturing him, "I have to have a word with you- Lesus?"

_No way. He's asleep! I could have sworn he was awake…_

His face and hands were twitching, making me think he was having a bad dream. There was even water element on his face… _tears?!_

"Lesus!" I shook him, worried, "Hey, Wake up!"

"Don't bother him," Roland said wearily, closing the door after himself and sitting in one of the stools that were inside the bathroom, "This is the only time he ever gets any sleep."

"What?" I asked, stupefied, "This obviously isn't normal… is it?"

"It is," He said simply, gesturing for me to sit. I did, albeit reluctantly. Then he started to explain, "I usually find him in here, sleeping. It seems your memories of us aren't as accurate as you thought."

"How long has it been like this?" I asked, eyes still watching Lesus with worry.

"Since…" He looked thoughtful before nodding to himself, "Probably around the time he accepted the role of the Judgment Knight. He spends the night correcting documents."

"But that's not right," I insisted, confused, "Why?"

"I'm not sure. He just doesn't like to sleep," Roland shrugged, "It's his choice. He's usually like this for at least a few hours, so be a bit more reasonable. You can't just barge in here and expect him to listen to you."

"The hell I can't," I snapped, anger re-fuelling, "How can you sit by and let this happen? The Twelve Holy Knights are meant to be united."

"No they aren't," He said, shaking his head. I stared at him in shock as he explained, "You should know this. Members of the cruel and cold-hearted faction aren't _meant_ to converse well with the members of the good and warm-hearted faction."

I ground my teeth in irritation, "That's just for the public to think. Don't you cooperate with Lesus? I've seen you two talking."

"We're their leaders," He explained slowly in exasperation, "We have to have _some_ communication."

I suddenly felt pity for Lesus well up. It all made sense. If Sun had never befriended Lesus, who would have? After all, he was the cold and distant Judgment Knight. He was feared by all, even his own subordinates.

_Lesus… How long have you been all alone?_

"Get out," I said softly, not looking at Roland, "You said you were busy, right? I'll wait here."

He hesitated for awhile, but eventually nodded reluctantly, "I shouldn't be too long. Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

I rolled my eyes at him, and he finally left. Sighing softly I turned to look at Lesus again. He was huddled in the corner, eyes clenched and brows furrowed seriously.

_Your face is too stiff… Even when you're asleep you have the same face._

It made me uneasy. The image of him lying dead in the Pope's rooms flashed through my mind. That time, too, I remembered him with this same face. It had always annoyed me. He looked much better smiling.

"In the end, aren't you the one being stupid?" I murmured softly, staring at him sadly, "I always joked that you were 'My best friend whom I hate the most'… But we can't joke anymore, can we? Now I suppose you're my 'best friend who hates me the most', huh?" I smiled painfully, "You always did complain that I made your life harder. You might be better without me," My heart clenched, "But I still need you, okay? You might hate me now but all I can think of is how badly I want to run to you with all my problems. To be able to go back to the times I remember us talking and laughing," I leant back in the stool, looking at the roof, "I miss it so much. Gah," I continued in an aggravated voice, "What are you doing sleeping? You're supposed to be chasing after me and nagging me to do my work. Or at least replying," I looked at his sleeping form wryly.

I ended up sitting there quietly, not paying attention to the time. _You're not supposed to be looking so sad. Scold me for being stupid. Nag me for not doing my work. Put me in confinement for going off on my own. Anything. Just be like the Lesus I remember. Be happy._

Staring at him the irritation grew until I finally cracked. Ignoring the part of me that screamed that what I was doing was a dumb idea I moved to the tap, turning it on and feeling the chill water. I nodded to myself before redirecting it to sit above Lesus, counting down;

_1… 2… 3!_

I dropped it on his head and he jumped, eyes wide in shock. He spluttered, wiping the water out of his eyes before he noticed me, his face turning incredulous as he snapped, "What was that for?! What are you doing here?"

"You shouldn't be sleeping on the tiles. You'll get a cold," I said innocently, avoiding his glare.

He ground his teeth loudly, standing up and straightening his clothes, "Don't say that after drenching me in water. Damn trash."

I poked my tongue out at him, making his eyes spread even wider. Resisting the urge to laugh I said in a serious voice, "They say water is a good way to rejuvenate the skin. I was just passing by when I happened to see the Judgment Knight, who incidentally had bags under his eyes," I raised an eyebrow, "I thought I'd lend a hand."

"Don't think I won't kill you just because Sun asked me not to," He growled, looking the part of the Judgment Knight as he continued, "You've done enough damage to the Twelve Holy Knights as is."

"Funny you should mention that," I said, anger rekindling as I began to glare at him, "Why does it seem like they aren't cooperating?"

"I don't have to answer to you," He snarled, turning to leave.

I stepped in front of the door, not letting him leave, "You might not _have_ to, but I'm going to _make_ you! It can't be that you haven't noticed, Right?! Your holy light is weakening!"

"My holy light has always been weak," He said angrily, "I don't want to hear complaints about it from a necromancer."

"Not just _yours_," I snapped, "Your subordinates, too! Ice, Metal, All of them!"

"Are you stupid, or just ignorant?" He snapped, rubbing his eyes, "The cruel and cold-hearted section has always had weaker Holy Light. It's the price."

"What price?" I asked, confused now.

"We walk in the darkness to keep the good and warm-hearted faction in the light," He said softly, looking tired.

My face twisted and I yelled at him angrily, "Lesus, even if they are facing the darkness with their backs to the light, Holy Knights still walk under the light, not the darkness!"

I remembered these words. Remembered speaking to him once before, when he was beginning to fade away from himself. When he questioned his existence. At that time he turned to me and smiled, saying; "_Grisia, even if I did fall into the darkness, you would just drag me back, right?"_

At that time he had seemed fragile, holding onto the lifeline that was my words. Now he showed no such reaction. Instead he looked even angrier, shouting back at me, "What would you know?! You don't even know me! You're a necromancer who chose to willingly abandon the light for your own greed!"

I was shocked. His words stung, but that wasn't the cause. I had expected him to accept the words. To forgive himself a little. But he wasn't…

_Lesus… How long have you been condemning yourself to the darkness?_

Looking at him I could tell that it had been far too long. His eyes were strained, tired lines hanging around them like dark clouds. Though I could no longer see colours, I knew that he must have red lines fracturing them from lack of sleep. He didn't even have the energy to vomit anymore and, though I always wished he didn't have to, I would actually prefer it at the moment. Anything other than the completely hopeless face he wore now.

My face turned determined and I said loudly, "I do know you! I know that you hate sweets!" He looked baffled, obviously not expecting the sudden turn in the conversation, "You love cleanliness! You're too serious! You've never told anybody why you chose to become the Judgment Knight, apart from wanting justice! You're most definitely _not_ in the darkness, Lesus Judgment! I'll make you believe that, even if it takes years!"

"Why?" He growled, face dark as he grabbed my collar and shook me, "Can't you tell you're a nuisance?! I swear speaking to you for three seconds makes me more tired than working for a week!"

I smiled, courage increasing at the familiar phrase. _Even if he seems different, he's definitely still Lesus!_ I continued in a bright, happy voice, "Because I promised you."

"I don't remember making any promises with you," He said coldly, tossing me to the side and opening the door to leave, "Damn necromancer."

"You did!" I said, standing up and grinning widely, "I promised you; if you ever fell into the darkness… I'd bring you right back!"

He looked at me, disbelieving before muttering, "Nope. I'm sure now; You're not ignorant, you're just stupid. You haven't changed one bit since you were a child."

"Happy cooperation!" I shouted at his back.

He slammed the door, but I didn't feel disheartened. I straightened my clothing, nodding to myself happily as I did so. Even if they weren't _my_ Twelve Holy Knights, nothing had changed my sole objective. I would protect them. I would bring each and every one of them back from the darkness, no matter what. Teacher had once asked me what I was willing to sacrifice my life for. At that time it had taken thought, but now I knew the answer immediately.

_"For the sake of protecting… I'm willing to sacrifice my life."_

It had never changed. From being a child, to my false memories, to the moment I had woken.

In the end, that I remembered becoming the Sun Knight didn't matter. What mattered is _why_ I wanted to become the Sun Knight.

_"For all of you!"_

* * *

_**Wah! So many reviews TuT So happy~!**_

**_I really hope you all enjoy it! And I'm glad that Lesus doesn't have to seem like a bad guy any more. :3 Phew~_**


	7. Chapter 6

I woke up early the next morning.

That's right, you didn't read wrong. I woke up _early_.

Earlier than even Roland, who was paused in wide-eyed shock when he opened his door and saw me waiting. He was wearing his official uniform, pressed and clean. His hair was smoothed down orderly, matching the image of the Sun Knight down to his polished boots.

"What did you-" He started, frowning in confusion.

"I'm coming to the meeting," I interrupted simply. He looked at war with himself for a few moments, clearly debating whether or not to bring me. To ease his suffering I simply said, "I'm coming whether you approve or not, so can we just hurry up and go?"

He sighed, nodding and walking in the direction of the meeting briskly. I followed quietly, straightening my outfit as I did so. I was wearing a simple button-up top that reached to my wrists as well as a long pair of pants. They had been placed in my rooms, and I had been surprised to see how well they fit. It was a good thing, too._ I hate loose clothing. Not that I'm exactly fond of clothing as tight as the Saint Dragon Brigandine though…_  
Roland opened the door and I followed him in, looking around unnecessarily as I did so. After all, I could see everything in the room without the use of my eyes. In the middle of the room sat the large table from my memories, all of the seats placed around it like usual. At the head of the table sat Judgment, his head down and reviewing documents. We were the only ones in the room, a new feeling for me. Roland sat down next to Lesus, pulling out his own lot of documents and reviewing them in silence. I flopped down in the seat next to them, waiting for awhile.

"You two are too quiet," I commented, rolling my eyes as I did so. Lesus looked up from his documents with wide eyes, obviously not having noticed I was there. Roland had no such reaction, simply shrugging and continuing on with his work.

"Why… Is he here?" Lesus asked slowly, looking at me blankly. _Hey, at least he's stopped referring to me as 'it'._

"He insisted," Roland murmured, turning over the paging and frowning a little.

"Of course he did," Lesus muttered, shaking his head and looking back to the documents.

The room fell back into silence and I sat, bored out of my mind. _Maybe I could do some paperwork to relieve the boredom... actually no, that's a terrible idea. I wish I bought some sweets... Sob. Now that I think of it, I won't be allowed to go to the sweets shop to buy sweets. Maybe I can bug Roland until he does it? But then he'll take forever..._

Elijah entered the room, sitting down beside Lesus and looking at me in surprise. In a friendly voice he said, "What are you doing here?"

"Being bored," I said with a grin, glad to have someone to talk to, "What about you? How are you adjusting to becoming the Hell Knight?"

"He's always been the Hell Knight," Roland explained patiently, not looking up.

"Not really," I answered, stretching slightly with a yawn, "He was a Royal guard before this, so it must be hard to adjust to."

"Not really," He said with a shrug, "I was a captain, so it's pretty much the same as this."  
"Oh?" I said curiously, leaning forward as I asked, "So how did the King react when he found out you were the Hell Knight?"

"He was angry, but we fixed the situation quickly," He explained, "The story was that I was there on orders of the Sun Knight to protect the Royal Family. He couldn't really argue against it."

I whistled in appreciation, "Not bad."

Leaf entered next, smiling at me despite his surprise, "Hello. I didn't expect to see you here."

* * *

Eventually all of the Twelve Holy Knights were present. As they had entered they had all greeted me awkwardly. _Well, I think Cloud must have greeted me... I can never tell._ They all seemed to be making an effort to appear friendlier, even Metal. It could only be accounted to saving Ice and my overflowing Holy Element. Still, it made me feel warm and light. It was comforting, being able to act slightly more casual with them.  
I stood to the side, leaning against one of the walls as they began to go about their meeting as per usual. It was almost as boring as waiting for them to arrive.

"The Blaze Platoon is still working on purifying the souls from the undead attack..."

"The King is insisting we send a platoon over to protect the palace..."

I was beginning to drift off when I heard something interesting.

"One of my platoon members has received information that the undead attack was caused by the church-hired Necromancer," Storm said, selecting a piece of paper from the stack of documents infront of him and sending it around, "It can't be proven at this time, but it can't be disproven either."

"Could she be trying to get revenge for the other Necromancer?" Roland asked seriously.

"No," I said from where I stood, shaking my head, "Pink doesn't care about things like revenge. She'd only do it if it amused her."

They all looked to me in surprise, obviously having forgotten my connection to her. Lesus was the first to talk, "How can you know that for sure?"

"Well I've known Pink since I was a kid..." I trailed off, frowning and rubbing my head, "Actually I suppose I might not have. She _seems_ like the Pink I remember. When I met her earlier she seemed pretty adamant about not helping Scarlet because she didn't want to get her hands dirty..."

"Does she realise she's a Necromancer?" Metal muttered, making me even prouder. _Ah. You've finally learnt the art of insulting people._

"Sorry, Grisia," Roland said seriously, "We can't believe your words. Youre not even sure of them yourself."

"I could ask her," I offered, shrugging, "As long as I bring her something sweet she'll answer any questions you may have. She might even help you."

"The church doesn't need the help of a Necromancer like her," Blaze said fiercely. It reminded me of the memories of us as children, when he went missing for three days after trying to confront Pink.

"It may still be useful," I said with a shrug, "Even it she's a Necromancer, it's better to ask her help than have people die because we didn't."

Roland frowned, but nodded slowly to himself before looking up to the others, "Who agrees with this plan of action?"

Everybody except Blaze and Stone raised their hands. Blaze looked annoyed, but reserved. In the end his heart was still soft; he wouldn't risk lives because of his personal feelings. And Stone was just annoying.

"Okay," Roland said, writing something infront of himself, "Grisia and I will visit her today-"

"I'm coming as well," Lesus' deep voice cut in.

Roland looked reluctant, but agreed in the end. It looked like the meeting was over, and they were starting to rise in their chairs until I quickly said, "Wait, the meeting isn't over yet. I have something to say."

They all sat back down, Lesus glaring at me in open irritation. I ignored him and said in a loud voice, "All of your Holy Magic is too weak."

They looked at me blankly until Metal piped in, "We're knights, not clerics. Dummy."

My face twitched in irritation and I snapped back, "Youre _holy_ knights. Not just any Holy Knights, either. The Twelve Holy Knights. But at this stage your Holy Magic is as low as any Holy Knight."

"Grisia," Roland said patiently, "We can't all have as much Holy Magic as you do."

"I know that," I said, rolling my eyes, "But my Holy Light wasn't this abundant before either. Since before I lost it its grown. About as much," I said significantly, raising an eyebrow, "As you have all lost."

It took a moment to settle in, and Lesus was the first one to catch my line of thought, "You think that the God of Light has taken our Holy Light and given it to you?"

"In a way," I said, shrugging.

"But why?" Storm demanded, looking confused, "You were a Necromancer. It doesn't make sense that you would be given Holy Light."

"Well," I looked at Roland, who was beginning to show amazed disbelief, "Ask him."

They all turned to Roland, except Lesus. Lesus' look of disbelief was tinged with anger. Roland bit his lip, looking down at his hands and folding them neatly, "Sometime in between Grisia's initial attack on Leaf Bud City and our attack on the Necromancers home he woke up in a forest. When he woke up he had no memory of ever becoming a Necromancer. In his memories he became the Sun Knight when we were children," Their eyes were wide as saucers as they processed the information, a few darting glances at me. My appearance alone made the claim slightly believable. After all, I looked like I could be the Sun Knight. My hair was now golden, long and silky as ever. I also emanated an air of elgance, due to my training memories. Roland continued in clear tones, "At that point he entered the city, looking for... well, us. Along the way he met Adair, and at that point he still thought he was the Sun Knight. When he was attacked he came to the temple, and encountered Judgment. You all felt his presence that day. It was because he didn't realise that he was radiating Dark energy. After that we both attacked him, and he was taken by Scarlet. The rest you already know."

"So..." Leaf was looking at me with a mix of confusion and pity, "You don't remember anything except that?"

"No," I said softly, shaking my head, "I remember having already killed Scarlet. The last thing I remember before waking up here was being in the forest with Lesus."

Hell was nodding to himself slowly, "So that's why you seem so different..."

"How much do you know about us?" Earth asked seriously.

I gave a small smile and began to recite, "You're Earth; Youre a bastard and a womaniser," He looked offended, "You're Storm; You're awful with women and everybody dumps their paperwork on you," His eyes looked pained as he nodded, "You're Leaf; Youre just a nice guy, but you can get really scary," I said while he gave an innocent look, "Huh? Where's Cloud..." I skipped Cloud, slightly spooked, "You're Blaze; You're loud and brash, but a real softy," He looked like he wanted to deny the 'softy' remark, but I continued, "You're Ice; your sweets are the best and you're like a Mama to the cruel and cold-hearted faction," a few people looked shocked, the others disbelieving, "You're Metal; Your insulting has improved a lot since my memories!" I praised and he nodded smugly, "I don't remember anything about this Stone. The Stone I remember was a pushover..." Stone looked offended, "You're Elijah; but in my memories you never became the Hell Knight. Instead you married the- ahem. You remained a Palace Guard and married," I said, almost fumbling and revealing his relationship with the princess, "You're Moon; you love your girlfriend more than anything in the world," Moon was still looking haughty, but he blinked in reply, "You're Lesus Judgment; You're kind, caring, hate sweet things and love tea."

He looked especially annoyed, but I didn't let it affect me. All of the knights were nodding slowly, even Ice. They looked distinctly uncomfortable. Storm was the first to speak, asking in a cautious tone, "Could this be some necromancers plot at taking us down from the inside?"

"No," Ice said quietly, making everybody stare at him in surprise. I could see him blush slightly under the attention as he explained, "Some things he knows could only be known from knowing us since childhood."

"More importantly," Blaze said slowly, looking at Ice in confusion, "You like to cook?"

I could see the others wanted to ask the same question, all staring at him intently. He shrunk into his chair and I stepped in, saying in an amused voice, "Okay, okay. He doesn't like being stared at. His teacher made him stop baking when he was a child so he would stop smiling. He didn't want Ice to be replaced like Stone was."

Ice was looking at me in surprise, "Thats why teacher did that?"

I nodded before adding, "Well that's what I remember, anyway..."

"So if the God of Light really did pull this all off; Why? Why go through all that trouble?" Lesus asked. Actually it was probably more of an interrogation...

"Because," I said, unable to keep some of the cold anger out of my voice, "You don't even know each other well enough to have known the things I just listed off. In my memories we were all brothers. That's the way the Twelve Holy Knights are supposed to be," I stared at each of them in turn, "Right now youre all strangers to each other. That needs to change. I think that's why I was sent here."

"How can you be so sure?" Lesus said in his deep voice.

"Because," My face twisted sadly, "In my memories you were all the ones I cared for the most. All 13 of you were my close brothers. I would have given my life for you," I paused before amending, "I still would. And I'm sure that, just as in my memories, I can perform Ressurection. It was a skill I learnt for yous. I used it twice in my memories," I raised my hand to my eyes self-consciously, "The first time I lost my eyesight for Leaf," He looked surprised, "I still don't have it, though I'm not sure how. I use sensing ability to see now, just as in my memories. The price of the second Ressurection doesn't seem to have stayed, however I can't really tell without my eyesight," I explained, "My hair turned white when I resurrected Lesus," He looked surprised to hear this, his hostility lost for the moment, "At that time you all offered to pay the price for me," I smiled sadly.

Leaf was focusing on my hair intently, his brow furrowed in confusion as he murmured, "Now that you mention it, you do seem to be covered in Holy Element..." He raised his hand and I felt it disperse slightly from around me.

The whole group took a sharp intake of breath and I looked around in confusion, "What?! What happened?"

"Your hair," Roland choked out, looking shocked, "It's white..."

"Before you emanated Dark energy just like this," Leaf said, understanding dawning on his face, "That must have made your hair black. So when you're body filled with Holy Light, it reversed to gold!"

"Oh," I said simply, shrugging as I did so, "I don't think it really matters anymore, though."

"It does," Roland said seriously, "Your eyesight can be accounted for by teachers attack. But I can't imagine any situation where your hair would be drained of colour like this..."

Once again I was left wondering how I had spent all those years of my life.


	8. Chapter 7

"Pink!" I called as I pushed open the door to Pink's cottage. Lesus and Roland trailed behind me, looking prepared to attack at any moment. The interior was shabby, dark and dusty. Feeling annoyed I began to produce a large amount of Holy Element, "Come out, you damn brat!"

"Owwwww!" A pitiful voice wailed from nowhere, making Lesus and Roland jump as they drew their swords slightly.

"Hmph," I walked further into the room before bending down to pick up the little girl, who was currently rubbing her head in a sore manner, "Serves you right, corpse."

"Meanie," She pouted, looking pathetic, "I definitely liked you before better."

The room had changed from its' former appearance to one that made Lesus' face blanch. It was filled with cushions, toys, and all around cutesy stuff. I had no doubt, even without my ability to see colours, that it would be entirely pink.

"We have some questions to ask you," I said, setting her down on one of the seats and plopping down opposite her. Roland and Lesus looked unsure, but eventually joined me in sitting.

She looked at me slyly, producing a lollipop from nowhere and beginning to lick it. In a childish voice she hummed, "Aren't _we_ friendly today. I assume you know the price?" I nodded seriously, making Lesus and Roland adopt a worried expression. Reaching into my clothing, I pulled out… a gigantic lollipop. It had cost me a whole silver ducat, but it was worth it. Pinks face lit up immediately, and she began to nod to herself, "What do you need? Spells? Want somebody dead?" She leaned forward, her eyes greedy, "A new teacher?"

"You know what we want, corpse," Lesus said in a deep voice as he glared at her. She gave him a quick, uninterested look before shrugging, "Were you the one who caused the recent undead attack?"

She smiled sweetly, tilting her head to the side as she purred, "And if I did?" His face darkened and she let out a tinkling laugh, "Oh so serious. Don't worry, Judgey. I'm not the one who did it."

"Who did?" Roland asked seriously, leaning forward, "Do you know?"

"If you're looking to kill them, you should give up," She said in a bored voice, leaning back in her chair and beginning to play with her hair absently, "They're already dead."

"Scarlet?" I asked quietly, frowning as I did so. She nodded happily, a sly look in her eyes. My frown deepened. _That shouldn't be possible. Perhaps a curse?_ I felt a chill come over me. If that was the case it would be much harder to stop than I first predicted. In a careful voice I asked, "How? And can you stop it?"

Her smile turned evil as she replied, "Oh? Should I tell you or should I let you find out yourself?" She curled her hand under her chin as she mused, "It's been so long since anything interesting happened… Hm."

"Name your price," I said harshly, slapping my hand on the table between us.

"A good show," She replied cheekily, eyes delighted, "You better make this city a bit more interesting for me."

"Fine," I said, grinding my teeth, "Just tell me."

"First," She said, turning to Roland and crossing her legs, "He has to tell you what he's hiding," Roland's face turned uncomfortable and he looked away, "Tell him or I won't help you."

"We're leaving," Roland said suddenly, standing and walking out of the house without another word. Lesus followed, looking unsure.

"What are you talking about?" I asked Pink, worried, "What's he hiding?"

"I'm not going to _tell_ you," She said like she was talking to a child, "This is the price. Make the show interesting," She giggled, dragging me up and pushing me out as she said in a bemused voice, "Better follow your Sun Knight, little necromancer. You'll know when to use it, when the time comes."

She slammed the door in my face, leaving me out in the street and even more confused than before. Lesus and Roland stood nearby, talking in hushed tones. It looked like they were arguing, so I approached quietly.

"No," Roland snapped, glaring at Lesus, "This is an order."

_Wow. Roland just ordered Lesus… that's just weird._

"Roland," I said in a warning tone, crossing my arms in front of myself, "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing," He snapped, turning and walking in the direction of the Temple.

"Lesus," I walked forward to stand next to him, asking in a questioning tone, "What's he hiding? You know, don't you?"

He sighed, looking after Roland in irritation before nodding, "I can't tell you, though. You'll have to figure it out yourself."

_Is it just me, or does he seem a little bit less hostile?_

After a whole day of chasing after Roland, asking him what he was hiding, and I still had no reply. Not even a word. Eventually I decided that, if I was going to ever know the answer, I'd have to go elsewhere. After wondering for some time who I would ask, I ended up in the Pope's rooms.

"What is it?" He asked shortly, raising an eyebrow and shutting the door after me.

"What's Roland hiding from me?" I asked immediately, ignoring his rueful look.

He sighed, rubbing his eyes and shaking his head, "I can't tell you that."

"I don't remember the Pope taking orders from the Sun Knight," I snapped, glaring at him.

"You're assuming that he ordered me to do anything," The Pope said mildly, "Stop prying. You won't like what you find."

_Urgh. This is so annoying!_

"If I don't find out," I snarled, "People could _die_."

"And if you do," He retorted, matching my anger, "Even more people could die. It's not a risk I'm willing to take."

I froze, staring at him for awhile before saying slowly, "People could die either way. I can help. You know I can."

"It's best if you don't," He replied sternly.

"He's going to find out eventually," I jumped at the sound of Lesus' voice, not having realized his approach. He was standing in front of the door, face serious.

"Judgment," Pope said firmly, shaking his head, "Don't."

"This is the only way that Necromancer will help us," Lesus said, glaring at the Pope, "She obviously knows something we don't. Is it really worth risking annihilation just to keep this secret?"

"Tell me!" I shouted, looking at both of them angrily.

"No!" The Pope snapped, stepping towards Lesus and looking intimidating, "Are you planning on ignoring a direct order?"

"The main objective of the Judgment Knight is to maintain peace," He said harshly, "Out of all of you it seems I'm the only one doing my job."

"Tell me," I said quietly, turning to stand in front of him, "No matter what, I'll help maintain the peace. So just tell me."

He looked down at me, nodding before saying in a clear voice, "Five months ago you encountered Neo Sun-"

"Judgment!" The Pope snapped.

Lesus continued in a louder voice, ignoring the Pope, "We were told by a dark elf that, at that time, Neo perished," He paused, looking away from me, "As did you."

I froze. _Roland told me teacher had died. But… It can't be true. Because what Lesus was suggesting was… I'm dead? I died?_

"You told him?" We were in the Pope's room. Roland was standing, practically shaking in anger. Meanwhile I was sitting quietly to the side, still processing the information. The Pope was watching me closely, a worried look on his face.

"Yes. We can't risk the lives of the citizens on a whim of yours," He said calmly.

Roland stepped forward, punching Lesus squarely in the jaw. Lesus barely reacted; only taking a step backwards and staring coldly at Roland, whose face was twisted in anger.

"Roland!" I snapped, standing up and glaring at him, "Apologize now. He's right. You're letting your emotions get the better of you. It isn't like you," I paused, taking a deep breath before continuing, "I'm going to see Pink now. Come, if you can behave."

Without another word I left, feet clacking down on the flooring hard. Behind me I heard footsteps, but I didn't pause for them as I let my thoughts consume me.

_I died,_ The thought was odd. I wondered vaguely if this is how the Leaf and Lesus of my memories had felt, _Except I couldn't have been revived. Resurrection is extremely difficult. Even the Pope may not be able to accomplish it. So who? Scarlet and Pink certainly couldn't have done it. They simply don't have the Holy Light to accomplish that, _I felt a shiver run down my back, _It couldn't be… I'm undead? But I'm sure I would have noticed… Wouldn't I? Either way I wouldn't be able to produce Holy Light like this if I were undead._

It was a troubling thought. _Maybe Aldrizzt made a mistake? Actually, that's less possible than me being undead. After all, Aldrizzt is a master mage. Not to mention; if teacher were to kill me it would be so there were only limbs left._

"Grisia," Roland had jogged up to walk beside me, looking immensely worried, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Of course I am," I snapped angrily, "I can't believe you were acting stupid just because of that. Do I look like a dandelion that would break so easily?"

"Anybody would be shaken after finding they died," He said softly, eyes pained, "Even you."

"Since I've woken," I said with a sigh, "I've found out I'm a necromancer, I took your arm, destroyed Adair's eye, took innocent lives _and_ that I killed my teacher. Somehow having died doesn't seem much in comparison. And you coped with dying quite well," I paused thoughtfully, "Well that's how I remember it, anyway."

"I suppose you have an idea of how I'm feeling then," He said, a little bit angry, "Can't you understand why I didn't want you to know?"

_I guess I can't argue with that. I would have done the same in his situation. Still, I didn't like having things hidden from me._

"I can understand," I said slowly, "But this time is different. I can't help if you're keeping things from me. And you're not allowed to get angry at Lesus. He did the right thing."

We fell into silence, all the way to Pink's house. Behind me Lesus stood, looking up at the dimming sky grimly. He always had seemed cautious of me going to Pink's at night. Still, I was sure Pink wouldn't attack me.

Fairly sure, at least…

I didn't bother knocking on the door, instead pushing it open and immediately bursting out with Holy Element. I didn't want to waste time playing games.

"Ow!" Pink groaned, throwing a cushion at me as she did so, "Cut it out! Brat!"

"I know what it is now," I said, striding into the room and standing in front of her, "I died. Now tell me; Who's doing this?"

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head and making her pigtails swing wildly, "I can't _tell_ you, silly. I have to _show_ you."

Her grin was suspicious, but I nodded slowly, "Okay, then. Show me."

She raised her thumb to her mouth, biting down on the flesh with sharp teeth. It sent drops of blood rolling down. She stepped onto her tip-toes, hand outstretched. Slightly hesitant I leant down and she wiped the blood onto my forehead.

I straightened, waiting. When nothing happened her grin grew wider and wider.

I frowned down at her, "What-"

Then I collapsed.


	9. Chapter 8

_I was standing in my house- no, not my house. Pink's house. Everything towered above me and, with a sense of dull shock, I realized I could see colours. They were everywhere, twisting and dancing. I had never noticed how beautiful it all was. Outside I could see blue-the bright blue that I remembered my eyes being. In the house was pink, enough pink to drown in. Still, I drank in the colours happily._

_I was irritated, though I didn't know why. I was straightening my dress- huh? I'm wearing a dress?! I tried to look around, but couldn't. Instead my body- which was significantly smaller and __**pinker**__ than I remember- moved on its own. _

_That's when I realized. I was in Pink's memories. I let myself float into them, trying not to separate myself from them._

"_I can't believe she's still at it," Pinks voice growled from my mouth, "I swear, she's turned into a child."_

_The cleaning corpse stood nearby, a coat in hand. I snatched it from him and pulled it on, flicking my pink hair back as I did so. With that I left, not bothering to close the door after myself. I strode through the streets, hood up, ignoring the surprised stares of passerby's as they saw me. I enjoyed this body, but it was a bit troublesome always having people expecting me to act the part of a child. I walked briskly, irritation growing._

"_I told her not to get sentimental," I thought darkly, "Now she's got some stupid idea that she can resurrect him. What does she think she is, a cleric? Tcht."_

_I entered the forest, irritation growing when the snow seeped through my clothing. I didn't feel heat, but it was still irritating. _

"_Scarlet?!" I shouted angrily, looking around. I was where she had told me to meet; in a small clearing in the forest. Still, she was nowhere to be seen._

"_I'm here," She said, stumbling through the snow like a child. I sneered at her as she moved to stand in front of me, "You came! That's great!"_

_Her eyes looked full of vitality, the complete opposite of what they had been a few days ago. When news came to me of Grisia's death I had gone to her immediately, expecting all hell to break loose. Instead she was sitting in her house, dejected. She hadn't brushed her hair, changed her clothes or even cleaned off the blood that stained her. It had long since gone black, making her look even more pathetic. Yet now she stood in front of me like a different person; her hair was neat, her face determined, her eyes bright and her clothing neat._

"_What is it, brat? You better not have called me all the way out here for something stupid," I snapped. Honestly, she was a disgrace. What right did a Liche have to be so torn over the death of one mortal? We were deathless; We'd lived through the rise and fall of whole kingdoms. The deaths of millions. A fair amount of those deaths were even on our hands._

"_I'm sure I've got it now," She said excitedly, grin wide, "I can bring him back," She held up an ornate necklace, "With this."_

_I sighed, resisting the urge to slap her. I stared down at her, mustering as much sarcasm as I could, "I'm sure that time and death will reverse because you offered them an __**amulet**__."_

"_I can do it!" She insisted desperately, "I just need more power! Just some blood! Please, I'm begging you! I'll give you anything, so please!"_

_I grinned sharply, nodding as I did so, "That wasn't so hard, was it? As long as you're willing to pay the price…" I ran my sharp nails across my arm, red staining the snow darkly, "Just don't complain to me if it doesn't work."_

_She bottled the blood, sighing in relief as she did so. Despite the lack of need for my presence I stayed, leaning against one of the trees and smiling smugly. _

_**Idiot. Now you owe me a favor. I don't have to do anything and I even get a show.**_

_She began to write runes with the blood. It promptly began to freeze, but kept its shape. In the middle she placed the amulet before slicing her own hand, sending blood dripping on it steadily._

"_With my blood," She recited seriously, brows drawn, "I move his."_

_She stood back, obviously waiting for something to happen. When nothing did her face began to drop, tears even welling in her eyes._

_**You're so pathetic.**_

_I turned to leave, not wanting to have to look at her. Suddenly I felt the presence of exploding dark element behind me, and I rolled my eyes._

_**Great. Now you're going to crack a hissy fit.**_

"_Hey," I said, beginning to turn around and call out to her, "If you're not careful the Holy-"_

_I stopped, staring at the scene in front of me with wide, disbelieving eyes._

_**No... That's not possible…**_

_Scarlet stood, face bright enough to be alive. Tears of joy leaked from the sides of her eyes as she threw herself at a black-robed figure that lay unmoving in the middle of the circle. I walked forward slowly, feet crunching against the snow audibly. When I came closer, I saw the impossible._

_Grisia lay in the snow, pale and still. With a sense of shock I realized his hair was as white as the snow he laid on, draped around him messily. His black cloak covered him completely, contrasting against his white skin. _

"_No way," I whispered, mouth moving silently, as if to refute it, "Scarlet, what have you done?"_

"_I've finally," She choked between sobs, "I've done it. I knew you couldn't be dead…"_

_She pulled the amulet from the snow, brushing it free and securing it behind him._

"_What are you doing?" I asked cautiously._

"_With this he'll be completely back to normal," She explained with a soft smile, "It holds part of his soul. This is just the vessel."_

"_That…" I trailed off as she looked at me questioningly. __**No. I won't tell her yet. I'll need some kind of proof first.**__ I changed the direction of the statement quickly, "Isn't that a little bit vulnerable? What happens if somebody takes it off?"_

"_Oh!" She said in realization, nodding to herself seriously, "You're right."_

_She placed a hand on it, closing her eyes and whispering something too softly to hear. It began to sink into his skin until it couldn't be seen anymore._

"_Scarlet," I said suddenly, looking off into the forest, "They're coming."_

_Her face twisted angrily and she growled, "Those brats. Quick, teleport us back to the house. I don't have the power left to carry both Grisia and myself."_

_I looked at her coldly, shaking my head, "I've told you a million times. I don't go out of my way to provoke the Church. If you can't carry him yourself then act as a diversion and leave him here."_

_She looked at war, but nodded. The towers of Holy Light were steadily approaching. She turned and began to run, occasionally sending out flashes of Darkness. The Holy Lights promptly changed direction, chasing after her. As she left I stood forward, leaning forward to look more closely at Grisia. Pushing his cloak to the side curiously. What I saw made my eyes widen._

_**A Sun Knight Uniform?**_

_I began to laugh manically, throwing my head back and clutching my sides._

"_Oh, that's a good one!" I managed between the laughs, "It's finally getting interesting around here!"_

When I woke Lesus was bending over me, shaking my shoulder and saying in worried tones, "Grisia? What happened?"

_Lesus?_ I looked around blearily before coming to my senses. I was in Pink's house. I had been inside her memories. But more importantly…

"Roland," I coughed out, standing shakily, "Sheathe your sword."

Roland was standing with his back to me and sword drawn, point it at Pink angrily. Meanwhile she looked furious, hair beginning to float in a non-existent breeze. He did as I said, albeit slowly. She calmed somewhat, but didn't release her glare.

"Are you okay?" Roland asked hurriedly, sounding worried, "What did she do to you?"

"She showed me how I was brought back," I said, walking forward slowly and frowning, "But I still don't understand… How could she have brought me back? That's impossible… And why was I wearing that? And you still haven't answered my first question; Who's commanding the undead armies?"

She smiled, eyes gleeful as she mused, "And I thought you were smart. Can't you figure it out?" She purred, eyes turning deadly, "The one attracting the undead army," She leant forward, running a nail across my chest and drawing blood, "Is you."

"The amulet," I said in realization, eyes wide and fearful, "It's still inside me, isn't it?"

She nodded happily, laughing brightly, "You've finally managed to grab that piece of the puzzle!"

"There's more?" I demanded, leaning forward and grabbing her arm, "Tell me."

"That's not part of the deal," She murmured, beginning to fade away, "I look forward to a good show."

With that she faded completely, leaving me grasping at nothing. I swore under my breath as I looked around for any sign of where she could have gone. There wasn't anything.

"What does she mean?" Lesus said harshly, drawing his sword and pointing it at me, "You're the one controlling them?"

"No," I said in a tired voice, rubbing my face, "If an artifact is interjected with enough magic it will start sub-consciously releasing that magic. Scarlet somehow copied Resurrection. At that time had an amulet…" I frowned, "She said it had part of my soul in it. She put it inside my chest…"

I touched it absentmindedly, focusing with all of my sensing ability. I could see it there; a small speck of Darkness. With a shock I realized that my Holy Light was containing it.

"But you're not radiating Dark Energy anymore…" Roland said uncertainly, "It couldn't be that the amulet is breaking?!"

I could understand his worry. If the amulet broke I could turn into a lifeless vessel.

"I don't know," I said in confusion, "The energy it was too thick. If I didn't have any Holy element in my body beforehand it shouldn't still be here, let alone trumping the dark energy…"

"That doesn't matter now, does it?" Lesus said suddenly, looking grim, "If the amulet is what's attracting the undead it needs to be destroyed."

"Judgment!" Roland growled, standing between Lesus and I, "If you do that Grisia could die!"

"Roland!" I shouted suddenly, startling him, "I've told you before; I'm willing to die to protect Leaf Bud City and you all! If this is what it takes, I'm more than willing!"

"No!" He snapped, looking fierce, "You're too selfless! I'm not going to let you die again! We'll find another way!"

"And in that time how many more people will die because of me?" I asked softly, eyes pained, "Please Roland. I don't want my existence to be reliant on Darkness, especially if it's going to cause the people around me harm."

He didn't agree, insisting that he would find another way soon. As soon as we got to the Temple Roland left, saying he would consult the Pope. Lesus escorted me to my room, stopping awkwardly.

"I know this must be hard for you," He said in a slow, quiet voice, "So thank you, Grisia. I'm sorry it had to end like this."

I laid down in my bed, closing off my sensing ability and staring at the roof blindly. Slowly the tears began to come, leaking out the corners of my eyes slowly. They weren't tears of sadness, of fear, or of pain. Instead they were tears of joy.

_He said my name._

That brief familiarity made it all bearable. The sliver of a glimpse of my 'Friend who is not my friend' from behind the hostility. Even without realizing it he was still setting my mind at ease, still helping me solve my problems.


	10. Chapter 9

I couldn't get to sleep that night. No matter how long I laid there, motionless and staring at the roof, sleep just wouldn't come. It was irritating. I couldn't leave the room either, lest one of the Twelve Holy Knights tackle me in the hallway.

I sat up, running my hand through my hair and wondering what I should do tomorrow.

_I suppose I could ask the Pope to try and take the amulet out. Or purify it._

I touched the area where it was absently, sighing softly. It was odd. To think that my whole life had never happened.

_I wonder if they're happy… Before I leave I suppose I still have one last job to do. After all; The Twelve Holy Knights are only the Twelve Holy Knights if they're together. I'm still kind of annoyed about that, actually. What do they think they're doing? I can't believe that they almost died because of one little undead army. Seriously, do they want to meet the God of Light directly and petition to make it 'Twelve Knights' instead of 'Twelve Holy Knights'?!_

I made a frustrated noise and stood. When I straightened I heard the 'clunk' of something hitting the floor. I looked down, but couldn't see anything. Bending I picked felt around before my fingers met a hard, cold surface. I picked it up, examining it with my hands. It was a circle as big as my palm. In the middle I could faintly feel an engraving, possibly of a lion. It didn't have any seams or latches, so I assumed it wasn't a container. It didn't seem to have any practical use at all.

_What is it…? How did it get here?_

I frowned. It didn't seem to contain magic. Or anything, for that matter. Even when I used my sensing ability I couldn't see it, despite being able to feel it clearly in my hand. Something like this was probably dangerous, and most definitely valuable.

_Who?_

Then it struck me. The one person I knew, and had had contact with, who threw rare and unique items around like they were worthless. I groaned softly, my sense of unease doubling.

_Pink. What's that corpse up to this time…_

I considered throwing the disk out, but refrained and thought it over. _It could be useful._

_"You'll know to use it, when the time comes."_

Pink had said that as she pushed me out of her house. That was probably the moment she slipped it into my pocket. I stared down at it, not being able to see anything and hesitating. Then I silently slipped it into my pocket, making sure I could feel it.

* * *

I was lounging in the Pope's study, popping blueberry biscuits into my mouth quietly while they talked. It seemed that the Pope and Roland had been up all night trying to think up an answer. At least their tired eyes and the Pope's crabby mood suggested so. Lesus was sitting opposite me, rubbing his eyes slightly.

_It seems like everybody was an insomniac last night. _

"I told you, I can't get the odds any higher," The Pope snapped at Roland, "That I've managed to get them this high is a miracle."

"Then we wait until there's another way," Roland said firmly, jaw set in determination.

"What are they talking about?" I asked Lesus softly while I watched them in confusion.

"Odds for your… survival," He replied, looking uncomfortable, "The Pope thinks he may be able to keep your soul connected with your body, but the odds are probably 30 to 70 at the moment."

"Oh," I said in a surprised tone, "That's good news."

"How can you be so calm?" He asked with a frown. Even if I didn't know him the way I did I knew what he was thinking. He'd tortured thousands of criminals. They all feared death immensely.

"If it means protecting you all, I can do it," I said with a shrug, pulling apart the biscuit in my hands idly, "I have one demand though."

There was a faint smile on his lips as he mused, "Of course you do. What is it?"

"From now on," I said in a serious voice, "You're all going to have to get along well. No more separation. Ice is to start baking again. And you're going to have to do something about your sleep pattern! At this rate you'll be an old man by the time you're thirty!"

He looked surprised, but nodded slowly, "Is that all?"

I paused, thoughtful before adding, "Promise to take care of them all for me."

He agreed solemnly, and I felt a great weight lift from my shoulders. Lesus always kept his promises. I wouldn't have to worry about the others anymore. They would be safe.

"Hey Lesus," I said softly, eyes downcast, "You need to learn to forgive yourself a bit more. Remember what I said, okay? Even if you're facing the darkness, you'll always be in the light. Don't forget."

We were silent for some time while the Pope and Roland continued to argue. Eventually I sighed, standing and walking to stand with them.

"Let's get this over with," I said in a determined voice.

"Grisia," Roland looked pained, "You don't have to do this. There has to be another way-"

I interrupted him by gathering him into a hug. He grasped me with his only remaining arm, hand shaking slightly.

"Thank you for being my friend," I said quietly before releasing him and turning to the Pope, "So what happens now?"

He sighed, crossing his tiny arms and beginning to explain in a clear voice, "I'm going to try and purify the amulet without removing it. It will take a lot of focus and energy, but if we're lucky the soul will remain inside. I won't lie," He looked me in the eye grimly, "It will hurt. A lot. The chances of success aren't high. I've never done this before, so I'm working blindly here," His face turned wry, "If you'll excuse the pun. I don't know what the after affects are. Even if you do stay here, you may revert to your original state. If that occurs; we _will_ kill you."

I nodded seriously, "Ok."

_I hope, for their sake, that I don't. At this stage I have holy magic __**and**__ dark magic residing in me. If I turn back now… I don't know what will happen. I'd be like an unstoppable force. _

"Lesus," I said, turning to him, "Get your sword ready, alright?"

He nodded seriously and stood, drawing the Judgment sword in one swift movement before approaching me. Roland was still standing next to me, looking like he wanted to stop me.

"Roland," I said sternly, looking him straight in the eye despite my lack of eyesight, "Promise me you'll look after them all, no matter what it takes?"

He nodded slowly, his whole face pained. He understood the implications of my words. _Whatever it takes; even if that means you have to kill me._

"Let's get this over with," I said, determined. When I turned to the Pope he was nodding grimly, "What do you need me to do?"

"Bend down," He said simply, beginning to gather magic in his hands. I did as he asked, kneeling on the floor and trying not to shake. I thought I would be fully prepared, but it was still scary. To think that in a few moments I might be dead. Again.

He reached forward with his tiny hand before placing it on my chest with closed eyes. Then his hand went straight through my skin, sinking into my flesh. I couldn't help but give a cry as the pain hit me like a horse. Make that a stampede of horses. More like an _army_ of horses, with nailed hooves.

It was like having hot iron biting into my flesh, then into my whole body. My breathing was short and pained, my lungs feeling like they were about to explode. My face was clenched tightly and my sensing faltered, leaving me blind. Well, blind_er_.

It lasted hours. Days. An eternity. Some ridiculous amount of time that I couldn't even comprehend. Suddenly a torrent of images appeared in my eyes, giving temporary relief from the pain.

_"Get back Grisia!" Teacher- No, he's not my teacher- yelled. We were standing in Scarlet's house, and everything (including teacher) was towering over me. With a start I realised that I was a child again. _

**_Urgh. Don't tell me I've turned into a Liche like Scarlet and Pink?! I don't want to be a kid! Sob!_**

_"Grisia," Scarlet's voice sounded strained. She was standing nearby, facing teacher and looking angry. Between them stood Big Sister, a broom held in her hands like a sword._

_"Leave them alone!" A voice that was simultaneously my own and not shouted. Teacher frowned as he glared at my sisters._

_"They're undead, Grisia," He said sternly. _

**_No. I don't believe you. You're lying. You're the Sun Knight. You're supposed to be kind._**

_Suddenly Big Sister struck forward wildly, her blow landing on the floor. My heart stopped as teachers sword swung upward, hitting her directly. She began to fade into dust before there was nothing left. I was in shock. I tried to process the thought, but it wasn't working._

**_Big Sis?_**

_"You!" Scarlet yelled, starting to advance on him darkly. With a bolt of fear I realised that she was going to attack, and that the Sun Knight would murder her too. I ran forward with my small feet, throwing myself between them with arms outstretched. The sword came whizzing down, almost hiding teachers surprised, horrified face from my view. _

_In an instant I felt a sharp line of burning pain rampage from one side of my face to the other, making me scream out. It didn't go away and I clutched at my eyes, feeling the warm blood trickle from them._

**_It hurts. It hurts. It hurts!_**

I gasped back into reality, my breathing uneven and laboured. My sensing returned in time for me to take in the scene. Lesus and Roland were standing with their swords drawn still, waiting for my reaction with confused faces. The Pope was sprawled on the floor, looking furious.

In front of me stood...

"Blaze?!" Roland exclaimed in confusion, lowering his blade slightly, "What are you doing?! Get out! It's dangerous in here!"

"No!" He shouted angrily, drawing his sword swiftly.

"Blaze!" Lesus' voice shouted from far away, making me even more confused. Lesus wasn't talking. In fact he was just looking shocked.

"You were trying to hurt Sun!" He bellowed angrily, brandishing his sword as he did so, "Get back!"

It was like I was watching from behind a veil. Their voices all sounded very far away. I squinted, trying to hear them clearer.

"I told you not to running off on your own-" Lesus' voice started angrily before stopping. Except it still wasn't Lesus talking. A few moments passed and the voice choked out, "Grisia!"

I looked to the door in bleary confusion. Lesus was rushing in, his black robes flowing out behind him as he unsheathed his massive Judgment sword. I blinked slowly, not able to reply.

Then he was in front of me, side to side with Blaze. They both had their blades pointed at the ones in front of them. Namely; Roland and... Lesus.

_There are two Lesus's?_

* * *

**_Hope you're enjoying reading :D Mwuahaha. Cliffhangers. _**

**_Reading your reviews makes me really happy~! TuT_**


	11. Chapter 10

The room was so quiet that a pin dropping could be heard. Thus it was no surprise that, when I groaned, several faces turned to look at me in worry.

Two Lesus' were staring at me.

_Creepy, Creepy, CREEPY!_

"It didn't work," I said softly, rubbing my head and closing my eyes, "I'm seeing things. You didn't mention one of the aftereffects was craziness…"

"…" Roland looked exasperated and on edge, "You're not the only one seeing them. Get back, they're probably undead."

"Who're you calling undead, you masked bastard?" Blaze growled angrily. Suddenly Roland looked angry and he raised his weapon menacingly.

My eye twitched in irritation.

"You're not allowed to talk with Blaze's voice," He snarled, "Get away from Grisia."

"Ha?! You're not allowed to talk with Hell's voice, bastard!" Blaze yelled back, stepping forward and striking. Their swords met, metal ringing out throughout the study. Blaze was at an obvious advantage, after all Roland still had only one arm.

I clenched and unclenched my fists.

"Blaze," The closest Lesus said softly.

"Not now, Judge! You deal with the other one!" He shouted back.

I stood shakily, swaying slightly. Steadying myself against a nearby chair I turned to look at Roland and Blaze fight. Both Lesus' turned to look at me, not relinquishing their grips on their swords.

In a quiet voice I began to talk, "I don't really understand," My voice came out weaker than I intended, so I continued more firmly, "I don't really understand what's happening… but…" I took in a big breath before yelling, "HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I SAID NOT TO FIGHT AMONGST EACHOTHER?!"

It had taken more energy to yell that than I thought, and I was left gasping for breath slightly.

_Looks like whatever the Pope did really had a toll on me…_

Roland paused, but didn't sheathe his sword. Blaze, however, quickly sheathed his and stood to stand close to me, looking hesitant.

"Grisia," Roland said in a tight voice, eyes filled with worry, "Don't get too close to him. He's not the real Blaze."

"How do you know?" I asked cautiously, uncertain. Was there a magic that could copy appearances this flawlessly?

"Because Blaze would never protect you like that," He said in a strained voice, face pained. It hurt, but I nodded. It was true. This was obviously some sort of trick.

I walked past the two imposters to stand next to Roland, face grave. In a menacing voice I growled, "Who are you two?"

They were both shocked, eyes widening visibly. Idly I realized that blood was trickling down from my chest, but I ignored it. This was more important. The fake-Blaze looked crestfallen, his shoulders immediately sagging. The fake-Lesus looked suspicious, his eyebrows drawn together tightly.

"It doesn't look like it's him," Fake-Lesus said softly to Fake-Blaze. Fake-Blaze nodded sadly, his jaw clenched tightly. Fake-Lesus made a quick motion to Fake-Blaze and they both ran from the room quickly, leaving me with barely enough time to react. Lesus and Roland followed after them immediately, swords drawn. I was slower to react, but used magic to enhance my speed. Even with the magic boosting me I wasn't fast enough to catch up to them.

_Urgh, My magic is so low! The Pope must have dispersed it for incase I went crazy. _

My body screamed at me as I ran, still angry from its earlier mistreatment. _On the upside, I'm alive. Or I did die and this is some kind of crazy dream. At this stage I just want some answers from those two imposters! How dare they pretend to be the Twelve Holy Knights! Hey wait- Don't tell me there are ten more of those people running around, causing havoc?! At this stage their reputations will be ruined!_

"We don't want to kill you!" Fake-Blaze yelled. Roland and Lesus had obviously caught up to them, because they were all clashing in a courtyard. With a sigh of relief I realized that the two Lesus' weren't fighting each other.

_Good, I don't know how I would cope watching that…_

Then another Roland showed up.

_I'M DEFINITELY GOING CRAZY! WAH! I DON'T WANT TO BE CRAZY!_

"There are more of you?!" Roland shouted angrily, hitting Fake-Lesus' (Well I was fairly sure it was Fake-Lesus) sword with far more power than I thought capable from somebody with only one arm, "How many are there?!"

"Just us," Fake-Roland said quietly as he began to remove something from his hand, "Sorry about this, I'm afraid we don't have time to duel."

_Hey, Hey. Aren't you a bit optimistic? This is obviously a fight, not a duel._

An incredible amount of dark energy began to gather around the Fake-Roland, large wings spreading from his back. He was undead. No, not just undead…

"Grisia!" Roland shouted in worry as he and Lesus retreated to about ten meters in front of me, looking at the Fake-Roland in incredulity and fear, "They've brought a Death Lord! Go alert the platoon members!"

I didn't answer, walking forward slowly with my eyes on the Fake-Roland. He exchanged a few words with the other two and nodded, looking ready to leave.

"Grisia!" Roland hissed, "Get back! You can't take them on your own!"

I ignored him, walking steadily becoming faster as my breathing fastened in my chest. I broke out into a sprint, pushing past them despite their shouted warnings. The three imposters stopped, raising their swords and looking at me menacingly.

Fake-Lesus said in a cold voice, "We don't have time, and we don't want to kill you. Don't follow us."

"No way," I murmured, ignoring his warning and walking to stand directly in front of them. In a quiet, unsure voice I asked, "Who are you people? Are you the ones who altered my memory?"

"Judge…" Roland asked in a hesitant voice, looking at me closely, "Are you sure?"

"He can't," Blaze said in an irate manner, "Sun would never dare talk to Judge like that."

My eyes widened, "What did you just call me?"

"Don't go pretending to be Sun now, imposter!" Blaze snapped angrily.

"It couldn't be…" Roland looked unsure, but hopeful, "Sun?"

My head began to ache and I shook it slightly while saying quietly, "I think… maybe?"

"Grisia Sun," Lesus said harshly, making me jump. The other two had a look of realization and hopefulness dawn on their face. Lesus looked like a mixture between relieved and… pissed. In a deep voice he growled, "What have you gotten yourself into this time?"

"I…" I grabbed my head, feeling like it was about to split.

"SUN!" Blaze shouted happily, throwing himself on me in a hug, "It's really you, isn't it?!"

"Blaze," Roland said uncertainly, looking at me with immense worry. Lesus, however, didn't bother to be polite. He pushed Blaze aside quickly and grabbed me before I fell.

**_Get out, Get out, Get out!_**

A voice that wasn't mine, but was mine was screaming.

"Grisia," Lesus snapped, shaking me slightly, "What's wrong? What's happening?"

**_It's mine now, so get out!_**

"**Don't touch me,**" I snarled, hitting his hands away and standing on my own. I looked down at my hands and began to laugh manically, "**Finally!**" They were all looking at me with wide eyes. I gave them a lopsided grin, flashing my teeth. When they didn't move I began to laugh harder, throwing my head back and grinning even wider. In a taunting voice I hissed, "**Come on now, it won't be fun unless you start running.**"

"Shit!" One of the Lesus' exclaimed, holding his sword tightly with a grim face, "It's _him_."

"What are you talking about?!" Blaze shouted angrily, "What have you done to Sun?!"

"We didn't do anything! He's regained his senses!" Holy-Roland yelled back, brandishing his annoyingly bright sword, "Get away from him if you don't want to be killed!"

"**The more the better,**" I purred darkly, eyes slits as I grinned widely at them all, "**Hey you, Death Lord.**"

The Dark-Roland looked to me in shock, obviously having no idea what was happening, "Grisia…?"

"**Yep**," I laughed, gesturing him toward me, "**You can work for me from now on. These bastards killed my cleaning corpse. Come.**"

A dim look of realization hit them all and my eyes narrowed dangerously, "**Are you disobeying my orders? Don't get so haughty,**" I clenched my fist tightly and he jerked, "**You think I can't keep one little Death Lord under control?**"

He moved to me smoothly, face panicked. When I turned back to the Holy Knights they were still there, the Blaze-Lesus duo obviously stupefied. In a cold voice, and with an equally cold smile I purred, "**Oh? Not going to run? I guess,**" I used magic to teleport behind the Blaze-Lesus duo's Lesus, "**I'll strike first, huh?**"

My arm was pulled back, moving to stab through his back.

_No…_

My manic grin and arm froze, still shaking as if to move forward. In a harsh voice I snarled, "**Stop resisting. This is ****_my_**** body now.**"

_No. You're not allowed to hurt them._

"**I SAID GET OUT!**" I yelled angrily, my hands gripping my face tightly, "**THIS ISN'T YOURS ANYMORE! I WANT REVENGE!**"

"You get out!" I snapped back at myself, teeth clenched tightly, "You already died! You're both dead!"

"**YOU'RE THE ONES WHO KILLED SCARLET!**" My voice shouted angrily back at me.

"If you know that," I said, struggling against myself and beginning to lose, "You know that I'd die before I let you hurt them!"

"**WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU CAN DO?!**" I snarled back.

"Roland!" I said hastily, unable to use my sensing anymore, "Stab me in the chest! Just below my heart!"

"I can't do that!" He yelled, eyes full of fear.

"Just do it!" I yelled back, my magic waning quickly, "If you don't-"

I felt the blade enter my chest just as I lost control. My face was contorted in anger as I took two blind, staggering steps toward the Holy Knights closest to me.

**_I want… revenge…_**

_No. You can never get your revenge. You've already taken far too much._

The consciousness faded and I found myself lying on the cold grass, eyes open and not seeing anything. Pain was radiating from my chest, soaking my clothing as somebody pressed their hands against it and muttered several low-level healing spells in a strained voice. They weren't working, I could tell.

I raised a shaking, unsteady hand to the area, pushing the person's hands away weakly. They persevered for a moment before moving out of the way. I felt the edges of the wound, the pain and my consciousness becoming dimmer and dimmer. I reached my fingers into the wound, grimacing weakly as I did so. It hurt like hell, but my fingers hooked around what I was looking for. I pulled it out with the last of my strength, breathing sharply as I did so.

Muffled voices sounded all around me before a soft light engulfed me, making my body feel light. Arching my back high into the sky involuntarily I began to cough heavily, my whole body shaking as I did so. Blood dripped from my mouth, but I felt the wound close slightly.

"Grisia?!" A familiar voice was calling, and I felt warm arms around me, "Can you talk?!"

"Maybe," I said weakly before pausing and saying, "Yes."

I heard relieved sighs all around me. I tried to open my senses but frowned, finding I didn't even have the magic left to perform that.

"I can't see," I said in a tired voice, "Help me up."

I felt another pair of hands grab me, working together to hold me up.

"Grisia?!" Roland's worried voice sounded close.

I reached out my hand blindly, grabbing the Roland's shoulder. When I found there was no arm attached I began to speak in soft, regretful tones, "Your Grisia is dead, I'm sorry. I'm not him. I'm Grisia Sun."

"Grisia," Lesus' deep voice sounded next to me, "We have to get you to a real healer."

"Follow us," Other Lesus' deep voice sounded from further away.

_Creepy._

In the end I was carried to somewhere that smelt like lemons before I was propped onto what felt like a bed. Somebody healed me and I regained enough magic to be able to see again. Around me stood two Lesus', Two Roland's and one Blaze.

_It's finally over. I can't believe the amulet actually had a piece of this worlds' Grisia in it. And he even had the nerve to try and steal my body! Hmph! I'm glad that breaking it with the sword managed to stop him. Hey wait, who stabbed me? Ah, who cares._

"Blaze," I said seriously, "I'm really glad that you don't have a double here. This is creepy."

The Lesus sitting next to me arched an eyebrow, a faint smile playing on his lips. I smiled back, glad to know which was which.

"What happened?" Other Lesus asked suddenly, still looking suspicious, "Who are these people? What were you talking about before?"

I frowned, not quite sure how to reply. Thankfully a very helpful tapeworm was sitting next to me.

"I'm Lesus Judgment," My Lesus said as he gestured to himself, then the other two, "They are Roland Hell and Chikus Blaze. And this is Grisia Sun. He went missing some time ago, and we came searching for him."

"Where are we?" I asked softly, frowning to myself, "How are there doubles of us?"

"Pink sent us here," He explained seriously, "This isn't our world. You've been missing for whole weeks, and Pink only recently suggested looking for you here."

"Leave it to you to get lost in another world, Huh Sun?" Blaze asked in his loud voice, laughing to himself. I felt like scolding him until I noticed something about them all. Their clothing was dirty, even torn in places. They were all sporting bags under their eyes, even Roland.

"I'm sorry," I said in a soft voice, feeling miserable, "I didn't mean to worry you-"

"No," He said quickly, shaking his head and looking ashamed, "It's not your fault. This is the second time I haven't been able to recognize you," His face looked pained and his chin shook slightly as he hung his head, "Sun, I'm so sorry. I'm so worthless…"

"You're not worthless," I said firmly, "I can't believe you came all the way here," I looked around to all three of them, "Thank you. Thank you all so much."

"Of course we did," Roland said, leaning forward and ruffling my hair.

"We should go back soon," Lesus said from beside me, looking serious, "The others will be worrying."

"Ok but first-" I looked around the room, surprised to see the Roland of this world was no longer present. The worlds' Lesus pointed out the door and I nodded, standing up shakily as I did so. Something clattered on the ground and I frowned, unable to see anything.

"Hey," Blaze said loudly, bending down and picking something up that I couldn't see, "Isn't this from the pink necromancers home?"

"Oh," I murmured, remembering the item she had slipped me earlier. I held a hand out and Blaze placed it in my hand, its' cool surface not giving any hint to what it does, "Pink gave it to me. I don't know why, though."

"She said it had some healing powers, but it needed Holy Light so it was useless to her," Roland said, frowning as he looked down at it.

_"You'll know how to use it, when the time comes."_

I smiled to myself, nodding as I did so. I strode out of the medical room, quickly sensing Adair and Roland standing nearby.

"Adair! Roland!" I shouted out, approaching them with a smile, "I've got to go now. But first I want to repair some of the damage that's been done here."

They looked confused, but I didn't pay it any mind. Instead I injected a large amount of Holy Light into the disk before holding it near the two of them. Suddenly it let out the Holy Light, ten times as strong. I grimaced slightly as it completely blinded me for a few moments, slowly fading away so I could see again. In front of me stood Roland and Adair, looking confused but perfectly themselves.

I leant forward, patting Rolands' newly formed arm, "The rest is up to you. Take good care of your knights, okay?"

I heard his startled exclamation as I turned, walking back to my friends. As I passed Other-Lesus I said softly, "Become good friends, okay?"

Blaze, Roland and Lesus were all smiling at me, eyes soft. Lesus quickly produced one of Pink's devices, and we ended up in the forest outside of Leaf Bud City. I hesitated before turning to Roland and asking softly, "Do you regret not becoming the Sun Knight?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking his head. He looked down at me with a fond smile, "No. Without you as our Sun Knight, we couldn't be the Twelve Holy Knights. You've pulled every one of us back from the Darkness, even just a little. You're our Sun," He said with a shrug.

"But I'm weak," I said in a pained voice, "I can't even hold a sword! What kind of Sun Knight is that?"

"Grisia," Lesus said quietly, "Even if you're not the strongest Sun Knight, we need you. Because together we're the strongest Twelve Holy Knights. Don't forget that."

I nodded slowly, a small smile lighting up my face, twisting the words he had said to me so long ago, "Lesus, even if I did end up forgetting, you would just remind me, right?"

"We all would," They replied.

_Of course. This is the way it was meant to be. No matter what happened, I would always have my brothers. All 12 of them. _

When I arrived back at the Temple they all showed it. Leaf began to cry in joy, checking me over for wounds worriedly. Metal and Moon punched my shoulder lightly with relieved looks in their eyes. Stone grinned widely and embraced me, just about crushing me. Cloud made a brief appearance to pat me on the head. Storm smiled widely at me, pulling me into a tight hug. Ice shoved a massive bag of sweets into my hands, looking like he might have been crying. Even Earth came up to me, throwing his arms around me in a hug and growling, "You worried us, bastard."

Elijah walked up and clasped my shoulder tightly, sighing in relief.

I was finally home with my brothers. And I wouldn't give it up for anything.

* * *

**_TvT So many reviews~! Thank you all for reading and reviewing!_**

**_This, followed by a short chapter covering the aftermath in the other world and this one, will probably be it for this arc. It ended up much longer than I intended, but I'm so glad that I was convinced to write it. _**

**_If anybody is wondering, Lesus was the one who ended up stabbing Grisia in the chest/amulet. He trusts Grisia, even if he acts all loopey and starts having conversations with himself. _**

**_The Grisia of the alternate world is talking in bold, if you were confused._**


	12. Chapter 11 Lesus POV

**_Hello again! This chapter is from the normal Lesus' point of view._**

**_It's basically seeing what happened in the first chapter of LDK, with a little bit of the aftermath._**

* * *

I strode through the halls of the Church, face dark and robes billowing out behind me menacingly. People jumped to the side, some even hiding as the black pillar that was me searched the Temple.

The Sun Knight was missing.

Normally this would entice fear, panic and worry. But right now it just made me annoyed.

_I bet he's slacking off again! I swear if I find him dawdling around…_

"Knight-Captain Judgment!" Leaf's voice yelled out behind me and I stopped to look back at him. He was wearing his official uniform, bow strapped to his back and green hair sticking up in places. His eyes were big and innocent, making him look like a child.

"The harsh God of Light does not tolerate wasted time," I said shortly, unable to keep the annoyance out of my words. I didn't like snapping at people, but Sun had really put me in a bad mood. _First he has the tenacity to contain me, then he almost gets killed fighting Scarlet, and now he's gone gallivanting off and leaving his mountain of paperwork unattended! Honestly!_

"The Pope told me to go get Sun, I was wondering if you could help?" Leaf said hopefully, his big eyes watery. I resisted the urge to sigh. _If I knew where he was, don't you think I would? Besides, Sun needs to stop bullying his subordinates and listen a bit more! Leaf probably came to get me because he knows he has no chance of convincing Grisia to do anything he doesn't want to._ Leaf continued, looking worried, "He's at the forest just outside the East Gate… I'm a bit worried he's going to get himself hurt!"

Only my years of Judgment Knight training kept my eyebrows low over my eyes. _Grisia hates wildlife. Why would he be in the forest? Maybe…_ My expression turned darker, _So he doesn't think we'd look for him there, huh? You're too cunning, Grisia! Is doing your paperwork really __**that**__ bad?!_

"You stay here," I said in a deep, aggravated tone before turning and beginning to leave. If Leaf was there he would defend Grisia._ I don't have the patience to deal with that right now._

"Judge!" Leaf called after me, looking pitiful, "What do you mean, stay here?!"

"I'll get him myself," I snapped, feet hitting the ground hard as I strode faster to the East Gate. I immediately felt sorry for being so short with Leaf. _I'll have to remember to apologize properly later. Maybe I could get him some sweets on the way back?_

The citizens looked frightened as I passed, whole streets of people moving to the side to let me through. Nobody talked until they thought I was out of ear-range, several beginning to talk in low, fast voices. I even heard some children begin crying.

_Sigh._ _Grisia… You're in so much trouble! I hate going out in public._

Luckily I was quickly engulfed by the white forest, puffs of snow raising with every step. I continued to walk deeper, realising with a start that all I knew was that he was in the forest. I didn't know where.

_Maybe I should have brought Leaf?_

"This is perfect," I heard a familiar voice say faintly, obviously far from here.

_Grisia… _My fist twitched, _So you're enjoying slacking off, huh? I'll fix that._

I walked in the direction of the voice, feet sinking deep into the snow. It was irritating, making me stumble and have to grip on nearby trees for support. I couldn't image how annoying it must have been to Grisia, whose physique was much worse than mine.

_I can't believe he went to all this effort!_

When I arrived at the voice he was sitting in a clearing, popping a slice of blueberry pie in his mouth. His hair was shining brilliantly, gold catching the dim light of the sun and magnifying it. He wore his Sun Knight uniform under a black cloak.

"Grisia Sun," I said in a menacing voice, crossing my arms angrily infront of myself as I did so. He jumped and adopted a look of surprise. My eyes tightened in pain when he didn't turn to look at me. He was slipping more and more lately, not quite looking people in the eye. It was small, but it was a frequent reminder of his loss of eyesight.

He adopted a big, bright smile that he usually reserved for asking for sweets, "Brother Judgment, under the God of Lights divine rays, how may Sun help you today?"

"Cut the crap! What do you think you're doing running off at a time like this?! The pope is calling for you and he sent me to find you! I've been wasting all this time searching for you! If it wasn't for Leafs sensing ability I wouldn't have a clue where you were. Why are you out here anyway?" I snapped angrily.

_If you try to come up with an excuse, I swear…_

"Well," he said sheepishly, "I sort of had something I needed to do…

I frowned in puzzlement. Usually at this stage he would be making excuses, or begging for forgiveness. Instead he walked to a nearby boulder, pushing it to the edge of the cliff with obvious strain.

_You need to practice more! I can't believe one boulder is all it takes to make you tired!_

I walked to stand beside him, looking down at the boulder.

_What was the point of tha-_

My eyes widened and I felt instant regret.

**Scarlet**

**May you find peace**

**Thankyou**

_I'm sorry I thought so lowly of you. You're always there for me, always helping to make me feel better, but I didn't even think…_

I bit my lip before murmuring, "I'm such an idiot," I placed what I hope was a comforting hand on his arm before saying quietly, "Grisia I'm sorry, truly. I didn't even consider-"

"No, don't say sorry," He replied firmly. I could see it in his eyes. He was trying to be strong. But his voice still wavered as he continued, "I won't lie. I regret killing her, and at the same time I would do it a hundred times over. No matter who she was in my past she tried to kill my brothers. But as the same time she seemed so pitiful... how many years did she chase after me? How many years was she alone, while I was surrounded by family and support?"

I watched as he began to cry, tears rolling down his face miserably. _I don't know what to do. How am I suppose to help? What would he do in my place? I should have brought Leaf. I'm such an idiot…_

He continued, interrupting my inner turmoil, "I'm being silly. I don't even remember her, but still... I wish it could have gone differently. If I had just gone with her to start with... Roland would be the sun knight. He wouldn't have died. Teacher wouldn't have lost an arm. And you wouldn't have died..."

My eyes widened in shock and pain. _Grisia, do you wish you didn't… become the Sun Knight? Do you not need us anymore?_

He raised a hand to his face, "I feel like all I've done as a Sun Knight is cause everybody pain and hardship."

_No. You've always brought us the light. Even in our darkest times, you were always there and ready to help us. Now it's my chance to help you._

"That's not true!" I said fiercely.

He smiled sadly, obviously unconvinced. My hands lifted uncertainly, ready to pull him into a hug and tell him to stop worrying.

"Oh yeah," He mumbled, pulling something out of his pocket. It was the amulet. Just looking at it made me angry. _You've caused so much pain, you damned Liche. This is your fault. You should have had the decency to stay dead._

I reigned in my anger, saying uncomfortably, "Grisia… You can't leave that here. It's too dangerous. If somebody else-"

He cut me off with a shake of his head, "I know. I just... Sort of wanted her to know. That she wasn't lone in the end. That somebody cared, even just a little. She probably isn't aware of her surroundings in there though."

_You're too kind, Grisia. You always have been. Don't cry. Not for her. Not for that monster._

He sighed loudly, "We should probably hurry back to the Pope before he chucks a fit."

I smiled softly. He lifted the amulet, securing it behind his neck and flashing me a bright smile, "Shall we go?"

I nodded and began to walk out of the forest with Grisia in tow. It was peaceful and quiet, only the sound of our feet crunching against the snow. We walked for some time before his steps stop and I turned back to look at him questioningly.

He was leaning against a tree, his golden hair slowly fading to white.

"Sun?" I asked, taking a step towards him worryingly, "What's wrong?"

"Stay..." He mumbled incoherently, staggering backwards and falling clumsily into the snow.

"Sun?!" I was alarmed now as I crossed the distance between us, kneeling down and grabbing his arm roughly, "What is it? Are you sick?"

"Stay..." I looked down at him and he began to open his eyes, a pure black. Underneath us the snow had begun to curl away and the trees surrounding us had begun to rot, "Stay back!"

I didn't let go, worried for him. Suddenly I was flung to the side, hitting into a tree and having the breath in my lungs disappear. I fell in a heap at the foot of the tree, squinting through the puff of snow that had risen.

"Sun?!" Nobody was there to answer my worried shout.

* * *

When I arrived at the Temple I was battered and limping. Judging by the sharp crack I had heard when I fell, I had most likely broken a leg. Still, I ignored it as I quickly informed my Vice-Captain to summon all of the Twelve Holy Knights to the meeting room, as well as send somebody for the Pope. When we were all assembled I was already sitting, unable to keep the slight shake out of my hands. Dimly, I realized I must be in shock.

I explained the situation quickly, everybody's faces turning horrified. When I finished they all burst into action, organizing platoon's to go searching.

"Judge!" Blaze bellowed angrily, his face contorted in rage, "How can you be so calm?!"

I frowned through bleary eyes. _Why is everything so blurry? Why does everybody sound so far away?_

"Your leg!" Somebody who sounded like Metal shouted fearfully. I frowned harder, looking down at my legs in confusion. _What? Oh._

Blood had begun to pool at my feet and as I moved my cloak aside absently I noticed that part of my bone was sticking out.

_Well that's a horrifying image._

I passed out.

* * *

It had been weeks since Sun's disappearance. There was no word of him. We had searched every kingdom, alerted all the citizens, and scoured every desolate forest. There was no sign of him. Not a breath.

_Sun can't be dead._

It was the only thought keeping me going at this stage. The city had turned into mourning, citizens walking around with dejected faces and tear-filled eyes. I wasn't sure when I had slept last. None of us were. It didn't matter. Sun was missing.

"I can help you," A little pink girl who I identified as Pink said quietly. It might have been my imagination, but her eyes were tight. Her hair wasn't neat. Her clothes were slightly rumpled.

She informed me of the price grimly, "I'll help, but there's a price; You have to bring the Sun Knight back."

I agreed.

_Sun. You really do bring light everywhere, don't you? But where are you now? Don't worry. We'll find you. Even if I have to go to hell and back._

* * *

**_Aw Pink. Admit it, you miss Grisia~_**

**_More chapters to come~ Stay tuned and as always; YOUR REVIEWS MAKE ME HAPPY!~ ^-^ I can't believe I got this many reviews... TuT So happy~_**


	13. Chapter 12 Lesus POV

"I'm coming with you," Blaze said firmly, looking determined. We were supposed to be leaving with the device Pink had supplied, but at the last minute Blaze had come to me with this request. I wanted to say no, to tell him to stay here. After all, if Roland and I went missing like Grisia… Could the city really get by without four of its Knight-Captains?

Looking at Blaze I knew that I couldn't tell him that. He looked deader than Roland. His face was haggard, pale and large bags hung under his eyes. Since Sun had been missing he'd looked in every corner of the country. I sighed, nodding.

"Just don't go off by yourself, okay? We don't know what's on the other side, and we don't know where the other side even is," I said sternly, brows drawn tightly. He looked immensely relieved, nodding obediently and moving to stand beside us.

I pulled out the device carefully, holding it out for the other two to grab. Once we were all in contact with it I took a deep breath before pressing the large button that Pink had told me to. I waited for something to happen, bracing against whatever was to come.

Except nothing happened.

"Roland, you know Pink, right?" I said slowly. He nodded and I continued in a dark voice, "Is she the kind to pull tricks?"

_Because if she is; I'm going to kill her._

He shook his head unsurely, saying in a hesitant voice, "It could have worked. Sometimes Pink's devices are really anticlimactic…"

I sighed, nodding to myself and looking around carefully. It _seemed_ like it was still the Church. Still, I wasn't prepared to take any risks. In a stern voice I said, "Proceed with caution. Roland; you head over to the east side of the Church. See if you can find anything," He nodded and began to walk away quickly, not wasting time, "Blaze you-"

We were interrupted by a scream. Blaze immediately ran towards it, ignoring my shouts. I followed after, contemplating how hard I could hit him without doing permanent damage.

I followed him to the Pope's room, deducing along the way that we weren't in the real Church anymore. The Church was never this quiet. And it was quiet. Dead quiet. Nobody was walking around, nobody was training. The only sounds were coming from inside the Pope's study. I got to the door, frowning in irritation.

"I told you not to running off on your own-" I started angrily before stopping. The Pope was lying on the floor, looking immensely annoyed. Blaze stood in front of a huddled figure, looking furious. Opposite him stood Roland- except he was dressed in the Sun uniform and only had one arm- and… Me? I stared at the odd sight for a few moments, not quite processing what was happening. Then I noticed who Blaze was standing in front of and I exclaimed, "Grisia!"

I walked to where they were, grasping the situation loosely. It looked like Blaze had charged in and thrown the Pope aside. And the fact that he was raising his sword against the One-Armed Roland and my copy meant they were enemies. I drew my sword, standing in front of Grisia protectively.

The room was so quiet that a pin dropping could be heard. Until a soft groan sounded behind me, making me turn to look in worry.

"It didn't work," Grisia said softly, rubbing his head and closing his eyes, "I'm seeing things. You didn't mention one of the aftereffects was craziness…"

_What?_ My brow furrowed in confusion.

When I turned back to the people in front of me the One-Arm-Roland looked exasperated and on edge, "You're not the only one seeing them. Get back, they're probably undead."

_I'm missing something here, aren't I?_

"Who're you calling undead, you masked bastard?" Blaze growled angrily. Suddenly One-Arm-Roland looked angry and he raised his weapon menacingly.

_If Blaze isn't careful he'll piss Grisia off._

"You're not allowed to talk with Blaze's voice," One-Arm-Roland snarled, "Get away from Grisia."

"Ha?! You're not allowed to talk with Hell's voice, bastard!" Blaze yelled back, stepping forward and striking. Their swords met, metal ringing out throughout the study. Blaze was at an obvious advantage, after all this Roland only had one arm.

_I should stop him before he really does something stupid._

"Blaze," I said softly.

"Not now, Judge! You deal with the other one!" He shouted back, making me want to sigh.

I turned to look at Grisia, who had just stood up. The front of his shirt was stained with blood, his hair hung around him in an unusually messy fashion and he looked tired. And angry.

In a quiet voice he began to talk, "I don't really understand," He paused before continuing more firmly, "I don't really understand what's happening… but…" He took in a big breath before yelling, "HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I SAID NOT TO FIGHT AMONGST EACHOTHER?!"

_It's definitely Grisia,_ I resisted the urge to smile. And to hit him, _What have you gotten yourself into this time?!_

He looked exhausted, breathing sparsely. _He must be really injured. _I frowned in worry. Usually his could be thrown to a dragon and still get up like it was nothing.

One-Arm-Roland paused, but didn't sheathe his sword. Blaze, however, quickly sheathed his and stood to stand close to Grisia, looking hesitant and hopeful.

"Grisia," One-ArmRoland said in a tight voice, eyes filled with worry, "Don't get too close to him. He's not the real Blaze."

_What? Don't tell me they're trying to deceive him?_ My frown doubled.

"How do you know?" Grisia asked cautiously, uncertain.

My eyes widened a little in shock. _He doesn't trust us?_

"Because Blaze would never protect you like that," One-Arm-Roland said in a strained voice, face pained.

_Ridiculous. As if Grisia would ever fall for-_ Grisia was nodding. _Something's wrong here._

He walked past us to stand with the two imposters, growling in a menacing voice, "Who are you two?"

We were both shocked, eyes widening. Blaze's shoulders slumped and he looked like he had just had his last hope stolen. Meanwhile I was growing suspicious, looking from the other me to the One-Arm-Roland. _Could they be doubles? Then this Grisia too…_

"It doesn't look like it's him," I said softly to Blaze. Blaze nodded sadly, his jaw clenched tightly. I made a quick motion to Blaze and we both ran from the room quickly, feeling annoyance grow when I realized we were being followed by two- no three, one was just really slow- people. They were obviously fit- well two were, at least- and they caught up to us quickly, beginning to attack with their swords. I felt a little bit of relief when I realized I wasn't fighting the one who looked like me. That would just be creepy.

"We don't want to kill you!" Blaze yelled. His voice was tight and I could tell he was thinking the same thing I was; _We don't have time for this._

I felt Roland's presence before I saw him, looking shocked. Understandably, as I was currently fighting a one-armed and very _alive_ version of himself. And that version was wearing the Sun Knight's uniform and wielding the Divine Sun Sword.

Then Grisia showed up, looking torn.

"There are more of you?!" One-Arm-Roland shouted angrily, hitting my sword with far more power than I thought capable from somebody with only one arm, "How many are there?!"

"Just us," Roland said quietly as he began to remove the pink ring from his hand, "Sorry about this, I'm afraid we don't have time to duel."

_Roland, I admire your politeness but… this is obviously a fight, right? There's no way you could mistake it as a duel, right?_

An incredible amount of dark energy began to gather around Roland, large wings spreading from his back. I watched as the copies of us began to panic, wondering idly if my face always looked that serious.

"Grisia!" One-Arm-Roland shouted in worry as he and my copy retreated to about ten meters in front of Grisia, looking at the Roland in incredulity and fear, "They've brought a Death Lord! Go alert the platoon members!"

_I really hope this isn't our world. If it is, how are we going to explain that Hell is a Death Lord? I suppose I could just let Grisia deal with it when I find him…_

Meanwhile the Fake-Grisia had begun to walk forward, face suspicious and shocked.

"Grisia!" One-Arm-Roland hissed, "Get back! You can't take them on your own!"

_If he's anything like our Grisia; you're underestimating him. He's definitely scarier than a Death Lord._

He continued walking, steadily becoming faster. He broke out into a sprint, pushing past our copies despite their shouted warnings. We held our swords infront of ourselves, but none of us attacked. Even if it wasn't really Grisia, we couldn't just kill him.

I said in a cold voice, "We don't have time, and we don't want to kill you. Don't follow us."

"No way," He murmured, ignoring my warning and walking to stand directly in front of us. I considered knocking him out until he began to talk in a quiet, unsure voice, "Who are you people? Are you the ones who altered my memory?"

_Altered his memory?_ I frowned.

"Judge…" Roland asked in a hesitant voice, looking at the Grisia closely, "Are you sure?"

I looked Grisia over closely, unable to see any difference.

"He can't," Blaze said in an irate manner, "Sun would never dare talk to Judge like that."

_In public he wouldn't…_

His eyes widened and my suspicions doubled, "What did you just call me?"

"Don't go pretending to be Sun now, imposter!" Blaze snapped angrily.

"It couldn't be…" Roland looked unsure, but hopeful, "Sun?"

I watched him in anticipation, feeling hope well up. He started shaking his head and I deflated until he murmured, "I think… maybe?"

_Only one way to find out._

"Grisia Sun," I said harshly. He jumped and I felt certain; it's him. In a deep voice I growled, "What have you gotten yourself into this time?"

"I…" He grabbed his head, looking confused.

"SUN!" Blaze shouted happily, throwing himself on Grisia in a hug, "It's really you, isn't it?!"

"Blaze," Roland said uncertainly, looking at me with immense worry.

I pushed Blaze away, realizing that something was wrong. He fell and I caught him, face filled with worry.

"Grisia," I snapped, shaking him slightly, "What's wrong? What's happening?"

"Don't touch me," He snarled, hitting my hands away and standing on his own. He looked down at his hands and began to laugh manically, "Finally!" I stepped back, feeling something was definitely wrong. He gave us a lopsided grin, flashing his teeth. When we didn't move he began to laugh harder, throwing his head back and grinning even wider. In a taunting voice he hissed, "Come on now, it won't be fun unless you start running."

_That's not Grisia. Is it?_

"Shit!" My copy exclaimed, holding his sword tightly with a grim face, "It's _him_."

"What are you talking about?!" Blaze shouted angrily, "What have you done to Sun?!"

"We didn't do anything! He's regained his senses!" One-Arm-Roland yelled back, brandishing his sword, "Get away from him if you don't want to be killed!"

_Is that a threat or a warning?_

"The more the better," Grisia purred darkly, eyes slits as he grinned widely at us all, "Hey you, Death Lord."

The Roland looked to him in shock, obviously having no idea what was happening, "Grisia…?"

"Yep," He laughed, gesturing Roland toward him, "You can work for me from now on. These bastards killed my cleaning corpse. Come."

_Cleaning corpse?_

I began to grasp the situation, unease growing. His eyes narrowed dangerously, "Are you disobeying my orders? Don't get so haughty," He clenched his fist tightly and Roland jerked, "You think I can't keep one little Death Lord under control?"

Roland moved to him smoothly, face panicked. I considered stopping him, but paused. Grisia turned to look back at us. In a cold voice, and with an equally cold smile he purred, "Oh? Not going to run? I guess," He disappeared from my view, leaving me with no clue as to where he had gone until he spoke behind me, "I'll strike first, huh?"

I couldn't react quick enough, bracing myself for what was coming next. Which was, apparently, nothing.

When I turned his manic grin and arm froze, still shaking as if to move forward. In a harsh voice he snarled, "Stop resisting. This is _my_ body now."

_What?_

"I SAID GET OUT!" He yelled angrily, his hands gripping his face tightly, "THIS ISN'T YOURS ANYMORE! I WANT REVENGE!"

_The real Grisia is in there. But so is somebody else. What do I do?!_

"You get out!" He snapped back at himself, teeth clenched tightly, "You already died! You're both dead!"

"YOU'RE THE ONES WHO KILLED SCARLET!" His voice shouted angrily back at himself.

"If you know that," He said, obviously struggling, "You know that I'd die before I let you hurt them!"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU CAN DO?!" He snarled back.

"Roland!" He shouted hastily, "Stab me in the chest! Just below my heart!"

"I can't do that!" Roland yelled, eyes full of fear.

_If it's Grisia, then I suppose…_

"Just do it!" He yelled back, "If you don't-"

_I'll trust you. Even if you're acting crazy, I'll trust you._

I stabbed him swiftly, below the heart. His face contorted in anger and he stumbled forward before falling. I quickly caught him, trying to staunch the bleeding with my hands. _You have to have a plan. You always do. You never enter a fight unless you know you're going to win. _Still, I threw healing spells one after the other, to no avail.

He pushed my hands away and I watched in horror as he pushed his fingers deep into the wound, blood oozing around his fingers. Then he pulled something out with a yank. It was an amulet.

I tried another healing spell, relieved to see its' affects. The amulet must have been countering them.

His back arched high into the sky as he coughed heavily, blood dripping from his mouth. Despite the horrifying image, I knew that he wasn't going to die.

"Grisia?!" I called. Blaze looked shocked, but I ignored him as I continued in quick tones, "Can you talk?!"

"Maybe," He said weakly before pausing and saying, "Yes."

Watching him blink and frown I knew, without his next words, that he couldn't see.

"I can't see," He said in a tired voice, "Help me up."

I obliged, draping his arm around me. Blaze still looked stupefied.

"Grisia?!" The One-Arm-Roland said as he walked close to us.

Grisia reached out blindly, grabbing One-Arm-Roland's shoulder. Then he began to speak in guilty tones, "Your Grisia is dead, I'm sorry. I'm not him. I'm Grisia Sun."

_I'm still confused. But…_

"Grisia," I said, "We have to get you to a real healer."

"Follow us," My copy's deep voice called. He was looking at us warily, eyes furrowed. _Wow. I never noticed how much black I wear._

We followed my copy to one of the healing rooms, setting Grisia down on one of the crisp cots gently.

"Blaze," He said seriously, "I'm really glad that you don't have a double here. This is creepy."

I arched an eyebrow, barely managing containing my laugh. In the end it came out as a small smile, and he flashed me a much larger one in reply.

_At least he can see now._

"What happened?" My copy asked suddenly, still looking suspicious, "Who are these people? What were you talking about before?"

Grisia frowned and I answered for him.

"I'm Lesus Judgment," I said with a gesture to myself, then the other two, "They are Roland Hell and Chikus Blaze. And this is Grisia Sun. He went missing some time ago, and we came searching for him."

"Where are we?" Grisia asked softly, frowning to himself, "How are there doubles of us?"

_I don't really have an answer to that, but I suppose I should tell him what I think._

"Pink sent us here," I explained seriously, "This isn't our world. You've been missing for whole weeks, and Pink only recently suggested looking for you here."

"Leave it to you to get lost in another world, Huh Sun?" Blaze asked in his loud voice, laughing to himself. I felt sorry for him. He looked like he was about to cry.

"I'm sorry," Grisia said in a soft voice, "I didn't mean to worry you-"

"No," Blaze said quickly, shaking his head and looking ashamed, "It's not your fault. This is the second time I haven't been able to recognize you," His face looked pained and his chin shook slightly as he hung his head, "Sun, I'm so sorry. I'm so worthless…"

"You're not worthless," Grisia said firmly, "I can't believe you came all the way here," He looked around to each of us, "Thank you. Thank you all so much."

"Of course we did," Roland said, leaning forward and ruffling his hair.

"We should go back soon," I said seriously, "The others will be worrying."

"Ok but first-" He looked around before stopping on the copy of me. He made a gesture and got up to leave, a small silver disk falling from his pocket. He looked around with a frown.

"Hey," Blaze said loudly, bending down and it up, "Isn't this from the pink necromancers home?"

"Oh," He murmured, taking it off of Blaze, "Pink gave it to me. I don't know why, though."

"She said it had some healing powers, but it needed Holy Light so it was useless to her," Roland said, frowning as he looked down at it.

Grisia smiled and nodded to himself for a moment. I paused before following, turning to look at the Me Copy curiously.

"Thank you for the help," I said slowly, feeling that it was all very strange, "And for looking after Grisia."

He nodded slowly in reply, expression strange. I shook it off, leaving after Grisia. When I arrived in the hall Holy Light was beginning to fade, leaving Grisia standing in front of One-Arm (Is it Two-Arm now?) Roland and Adair. Both looked surprised. He exchanged a few words before coming to stand with us.

We were all smiling. I quickly produced one of Pink's devices, eager to let everybody know that he was okay. We quickly returned to our world, this time in the forest. Grisia hesitated before turning to Roland and asking softly, "Do you regret not becoming the Sun Knight?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking his head. He looked down at Sun with a fond smile, "No. Without you as our Sun Knight, we couldn't be the Twelve Holy Knights. You've pulled every one of us back from the Darkness, even just a little. You're our Sun," He said with a shrug.

"But I'm weak," Sun said in a pained voice, "I can't even hold a sword! What kind of Sun Knight is that?"

_You may not hold a sword, but I wouldn't want to be your opponent in a real fight._

"Grisia," I said quietly, "Even if you're not the strongest Sun Knight, we need you. Because together we're the strongest Twelve Holy Knights. Don't forget that."

He nodded slowly, a small smile lighting up his face, twisting the words I had said to him so long ago, "Lesus, even if I did end up forgetting, you would just remind me, right?"

"We all would," We replied.

Our reception, both through the City and at the Temple, was grand. In the streets people began to cheer, seeming to have forgotten my presence. At the Temple everybody was waiting with teary eyes. I reserved my welcome for later. In his absence I had saved quite a bit of money, enough to buy him a welcome home cake.

Life was peaceful again.

Well… As peaceful as it can get with Grisia around, anyway.

* * *

**_So! How did you like it? I couldn't help but add that last quip. Your reviews are so touching _**

**_\(^∇ ^)\ _**

**_I plan to follow this with a short chapter on what life in the other dimension ended up like. I hope all of your questions will be answered~ I don't have the answer to all of them though~ ._**


	14. Chapter 13 AU Lesus POV

A lot had changed since the visit of our copies. Starting with...

"Judgment," Ice's cold voice came from behind me. I turned, only to have him shove a bag in my hands and take two steps back. I resisted the urge to sigh, wary of his shy personality. In my hands was a small, linen bag that was bulging with... sweets.

I felt my stomach turn, but popped one in my mouth anyway. It was bitter, but not nearly enough to cover the sweetness.

_I really hate sweets..._ Still, Ice had seemed much happier since he had continued baking, as did everybody else. Most likely due to a rise in blood sugar.

"It's good," I lied, popping another into my mouth reassuringly. His face (Well, his eyes at least) lit up and he nodded before turning and walking away. This time I let the sigh sound. Ever since I had ordered him to continue baking I seemed to have a new bag full of sweets in my hand daily. I knew it was out of gratitude, but some small part of me wondered if maybe it was some kind of torture. Every day I was forcing myself to eat a whole bag of sweets, feeling too guilty to throw them away or give them to somebody else.

"Captain Judgment," Leaf said in a surprised tone as he down the hall, towards me, "I wasn't expecting to see you here. Sun said to tell you he left something in your room," Leaf's eyes flickered to the sweets bag and he said kindly, "Those look quite nice, May I have some?"

I nodded, glad that Leaf was such a good guy. Somehow he had figured out my intolerance for sweets, and had often asked for some to lower my load. He ate them despite how obvious it was he didn't like bitter things. He usually sprinkled them with something before he ate them, though...

"Oh!" He exclaimed, looking out the window at the steadily dwindling sun, "I have to go! Would you mind dropping these by Hell for me? I promised Storm I would help him mark some documents..."

I nodded, having nothing better to do anyway. He passed me a stack of letters with a heartfelt thank you, turning and sprinting in the direction of Storms room. I looked down at them curiously, frowning in puzzlement. I hadn't known that Hell had so many people writing to him. Still, I didn't let it bother me as I strode down the halls to his rooms. When I arrived I knocked and waited patiently until he opened the door, looking out with a smile. When he saw me his eyes widened and he exclaimed, "Captain Judgment! Is something wrong?"

"No," I said quickly, holding up the letters for him to see. I detected a faint blush but chose to ignore it as I said, "Leaf asked me to pass these to you."

"I'm sorry to trouble you," He said with a smile, taking the stack of letters and laughing in an embarrassed manner, "She always sends too many..."

I nodded in realization. Sun had mentioned something about Hell continuing to write to the Princess. Apparently their marriage has hit rough waters, and the two can't even stand each other. They've made some kind of agreement to become a couple that isn't a couple... Still, if it meant that Hell could continue talking to his lover, I didn't mind. It was unlikely there would be a war if anything was found out. Even if it did, Hell deserved to be happy.

"Um," Hell mumbled, holding another stack of letters awkwardly, "Would you mind...? Cloud said he would post them anonymously for me..."

I nodded, taking them before I realized something, "Where can I find Cloud?"

"Oh, the Pope has him assigned to the library at the moment," He answered, looking amused, "The old librarian quit, so the Pope replaced him with Cloud."

I tried not to laugh before nodding and heading in the direction of the Library, immensely amused. Leave it to the Pope to turn a Knight into a librarian. Still, I have a feeling Cloud would enjoy that. And it makes him easier- no, not easier, possible!- to find.

I walked straight to the front desk, seeing Clouds head and hand popped out as he talked to one of the knights. I waited patiently until he was free before placing the letters on the table, careful that they didn't topple over. He didn't answer, merely grabbing them with a nod. A little unsure on what to do now I decided that a trip to the prayer room might be nice.

When I entered I realized, with a start, that it wasn't empty. Inside sat Sun, his back to me as he prayed. I felt a twinge in my chest, knowing who he was praying for. It hadn't changed in so long; it was hard not to guess.

I sat next to him, alerting him of my presence. He looked up with a smile, but the pain still resided in his eyes.

"How is the new arm coming in?" I asked, too quiet to be overheard by any eavesdroppers.

He opened and closed his hand, nodding to himself, "Like it never left. It's a bit odd though."

His gaze turned distant and I patted him on the back in what I hoped was a comforting manner, "You did the right thing, in the end."

"I still wonder," He said softly, "If it couldn't have been different. If the situations had been reversed..."

"It would have been different," I said firmly, staring down at him sternly, "You saw it when they came. They accepted your copy, even though he was a Death Lord. But it was different here," I looked him in the eye, "He chose his path. If the situation had been reversed, you would have chosen the light. He didn't. In the end, no matter what you did, it always came down to that choice."

He nodded, looking slightly reassured, "Thank you," His expression brightened and he smiled again, "Did you see what I got you?"

"Not yet," I said, shaking my head.

He looked outside, grin widening, "Go then. It's about time."

I nodded slowly, still not sure. What I was sure of, however, is that no amount of nagging was going to get him to just _tell_ me what it was. So instead I walked to my rooms, resisting the urge to yawn as I did so. The door swung open and shut, leaving me inside the room in the comfortable darkness. I walked to my pillow where a bottle laid, a small tag attached. I picked it up curiously, sitting on the bed as I did so.

_Sleeping Elixir_.

I smiled to myself, popping the lid open and taking a small sip. I re-corked it then moved to lie flat on the bed, my pillow soft beneath my head.

_So much has changed. Everybody has grown so much in such a short amount of time. Even Stone seems a bit less stubborn..._

_Actually that's just optimism. The child who was originally Stone would still be better. On second thoughts... no. The young Stone is definitely happy. I can't believe he has a wife and kids! _

I smiled to myself as I drifted off into sleep.

* * *

**_Endings are bittersweet. I really enjoyed writing this, and I hope you enjoyed reading it!_**

**_Phew. I think that just about covers it. Needless to say; Grisia returned to a mountain of paperwork._**


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